UniFrance's first day at Cannes featured a cocktail reception held at our Pavilion for sales agents and distributors, followed by another reception celebrating VR organized as part of the first anniversary of the Uni-VR think tank. We then moved locations to the Terrasse By Albane for the Cannes French Party dinner, attended by a large number of movie industry artists.
In addition to the many professional meetings with distributors and buyers from around the world, the UniFrance Pavilion welcomed French media representatives for a meeting with Andrey Zvyagintsev, who presented his film Loveless in the Official Competition (co-produced by the French outfits Arte France Cinéma and Why Not Productions). Télérama magazine was also at our Pavilion to host a Facebook Live session with Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Three other events also stood out:
SALES AGENTS' AND DISTRIBUTORS' COCKTAIL RECEPTION
All of the French film sales companies present at Cannes and a large number of international distributors took part in this cocktail event held at the UniFrance Pavilion to mark the opening of the Film Market. Around 500 people were welcomed by Isabelle Giordano and Jean-Paul Salomé, and were able to meet with the members of the UniFrance’s Markets and Surveys team. Representatives from the sales companies TF1 Studio, Pyramide International, Other Angle Pictures, Playtime, Les Films du Losange, UDI, Bac Films, and Capricci (to mention just a few names) were present alongside representatives from the international distributors Sony Classics, Strand Releasing, Kino Lorber (USA), Prokino Filmverleih, Leonine (Universum), Arsenal (Germany), Satine Film, PFA Films (Italy), A Contracorriente Films (Spain), Palace Films (Australia), Cinépolis (Mexico) (Mexico), Fênix Filmes, Mares Filmes (Brazil), New Wave Films (UK), and Angel Films A/S (Denmark), among others.
UNI-VR COCKTAIL RECEPTION
A little later in the evening, UniFrance welcomed a host of French and international figures from the world of virtual reality (VR), who joined in celebrations for the first anniversary of the think tank Uni-VR. Launched at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Uni-VR now counts around one hundred members (content creators, business leaders, developers, technicians, producers, media agencies, advertising companies, etc.). This event expresses UniFrance’s commitment to looking towards the technologies of tomorrow, of which virtual reality is an undeniable part.
CANNES FRENCH PARTY DINNER
Held at the Terrasse By Albane at the Marriott, which boasts a magnificent view of the Croisette, this dinner event was jointly hosted by Chopard, Madame Figaro, and UniFrance with the aim of celebrating the global reach of French cinema. Many movie industry personalities came together for this event, including Isabelle Huppert, Marion Cotillard, Elsa Zylberstein, Jessica Chastain, Monica Bellucci, Sveva Alviti, Alice Taglioni, Clotilde Courau, Alex Lutz, Niels Schneider, Rossy De Palma, Sandrine Kiberlain, Julie Gayet, Élodie Bouchez, Vincent Perez, and Houda Benyamina.
