On January 16, 2017, for the 19th edition of the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in Paris, Unifrance will present the French Cinema Award 2017* to Isabelle Huppert.
Just as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has announced Isabelle Huppert's nomination for a Golden Globe Award in the Best Dramatic Actress category for her performance in Elle, the iconic actress will also soon be honored in France with an award initiated by Unifrance.
The French Cinema Award was created by UniFrance in partnership with the Saint-Louis Cristallerie, with the aim of celebrating an outstanding figure in the international movie industry who has contributed to raising the profile of French cinema around the world. In 2016, the French Cinema Award has already been presented to the producers of The Little Prince, Aton Soumache and Dimitri Rassam (On Entertainment) and the Italian distributor Andrea Occhipinti (Lucky Red).
Having served as patron of this year's New York Rendez-Vous with French Cinema Today held in March and the French Film Festival in Yokohama in June, Isabelle Huppert has accompanied no less than four of her films around the world in 2016: Elle by Paul Verhoeven, Things to Come by Mia Hansen-Løve, Valley of Love by Guillaume Nicloux, and Macadam Stories by Samuel Benchetrit. With the presentation of this prize, which has never before been awarded to an actress, UniFrance wishes to highlight the dedication shown by Isabelle Huppert to promoting and accompanying her films and their foreign distributors this year in over ten of the major markets for French films around the world.
The 19th edition of the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in Paris will be hosted by UniFrance from January 12 through 16, 2017. With the event to be attended by more than 400 foreign distributors, 40 French sales agents, 100 European journalists, and 100 French actors, this meeting is both the world's biggest market entirely devoted to French films and the most important press junket for French cinema.
*This prestigious clear crystal award is hand-crafted at the legendary Saint-Louis crystal manufacturing house, which was founded in 1586 and remains a symbol of French standards of excellence and expertise. Created from a ball of fire and human breath, Saint-Louis crystal vibrates with all of the talent inherited from History while also drawing inspiration from the extraordinary creative fantasy of current trends. Every day, the Saint-Louis Cristallerie produces exceptional pieces created by master glassmakers and glasscutters who are among France's award-winning Leading Craftsmen. The French Cinema Award is one of these pieces.
