UniFrance films at the 2015 Cannes International Film Festival: a larger pavilion space and 20 meetings for French film exports already scheduled!
Unifrance will be in Cannes from May 13 through 24 in an expanded pavilion space on the Pantiero, right at the entrance to the International Village. Decorated once again by Sarah Lavoine, our pavilion will host meetings with the teams at UniFrance films, working alongside our president Jean-Paul Salomé and executive director Isabelle Giordano. Meetings and events will be held with foreign festival directors and programmers, international distributors, sales agents, film market directors, journalists, audiovisual attachés, cultural advisors, and the full range of professionals working in the film export business.
This year, our association has put the accent on the geographic areas of North America, Italy, Germany, Colombia, and Peru.
And while world cinema gets together every year at Cannes, French cinema is actively reaching out to audiences across the globe every single day!
To jog our memories, here's a recap of key figures for French films in 2014:
· France is the world's 2nd biggest exporter of films
· French films registered 115 million admissions worldwide
· €655 million in receipts abroad (€600 million in France)
· 300 artists accompanied their films abroad
· 25 million spectators registered in North America, 17 million in China
...not to mention 15 Oscars and 3 Palme d’Or Awards in the past 10 years!
Here are some of the UniFrance events already confirmed for Cannes 2015 (invitation only):
Thursday, May 14
6 p.m.: Cocktail party for French sales agents and international distributors
9 p.m.: Evening event "French Cinema/La Relève" in partnership with l’Oréal Paris and STYLIST
Friday, May 15
12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Opening of the photography exhibition "Rendez-Vous 2015". As a continuation of our activities geared toward enhancing the international visibility of artists working in French cinema, UniFrance films will present an exhibition at our pavilion of thirty new portraits of actors and directors by Matias Indjic (in collaboration with Madame Figaro magazine) that were taken during the latest Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris in January
Saturday, May 16
10 a.m.: Meeting on the theme of film distribution and exhibition in Africa in the presence, notably, of Annick Girardin, French Minister of State in Charge of Development and French-Speaking Communities, and Éric Névé, producer and chairman of the UniFrance films work group on French-speaking communities around the world in preparation for the First Professional Meetings to be held in Abidjan in June 2015
11 a.m.: Presentation of the France Culture Cinéma Students' Prize and the Consécration Prize
9:00 p.m.: SoFrench Chopard/Madame Figaro/UniFrance films dinner to celebrate the international expansion of French cinema
Sunday, May 17
10:00 a.m.: Participation in the Conference organized by the French Ministry of Culture entitled "The future of copyright/authors' rights in Europe: Culture and the single digital market" (Palais des Festivals). Round tables moderated by Isabelle Giordano will be held in the presence of Martin Schulz, Sylvia Costa, Alexandre Desplat, Douglas Kennedy, Peter Dinges, Rodolphe Belmer, Arnaud Nourry, Carlotta Calori, Pascal Nègre, and Pascal Rogard, with a closing speech by French Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin
Monday, May 18
11:00 a.m.: Breakfast event for audiovisual attachés and directors of international affairs at the CNC
1:00 p.m.: Cocktail party for the presentation of the Audience Prize from the recent Rendez-vous avec le nouveau Cinéma français à Rome and a meeting with Italian distributors to celebrate the success of French films in Italy and Franco-Italian cooperation (in partnership with the UCI and the CNC/MIBACT development fund)
3:00 p.m.: Francophone Meetings with the CNC
6:00 p.m.: SPI Cocktail party
Tuesday, May 19
3:00 p.m.: Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Franco-German Film Meetings
4:30 p.m.: Cocktail party with German distributors to celebrate the success of French films in Germany and Franco-German cooperation
6:00 p.m.: Cocktail party "Produire demain" (invitation only) with the APC - Association of Movie Producers
Wednesday, May 20
1:00 p.m.: Institut Français Luncheon
Thursday, May 21 Special Day dedicated to Short Films
9:30 a.m.: Networking breakfast
1:00 p.m.: Francophone luncheon "From Short to Long"
6:00 p.m.: Presentation of the UniFrance films Short Film Prize
Friday, May 22
10:30 a.m.: Meeting with film students at La fémis /Marché du Film
Saturday, May 23
11:00 a.m.: Jury deliberation for the Fipresci Prize
As is the case each year, the UniFrance Pavilion is also a favorite place for film crews from French productions presented at Cannes to meet with international media representatives.
