With the sun still shining on Cannes, the day's highlights included productive meetings held at the UniFrance Pavilion between French film crew members and international media representatives, and a debate on the subject of the distribution of French-language films.
BPM and the shadow of J-LG at UniFrance
In the wake of the excellent reception of their film in the Official Competition, the crew from BPM (Beats Per Minute)—Robin Campillo and his cast members Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois, and Adèle Haenel (photo)—made themselves comfortable at the UniFrance Pavilion to meet with international media. The director was touched by the reaction of journalists, whose emotions were still running high the day after the screening, stating "I've now had three journalists who burst into tears when they asked me their questions!"
Meanwhile, also at the UniFrance Pavilion, Michel Hazanavicius, Louis Garrel, Bérénice Bejo, and Stacy Martin chatted about Redoubtable with media representatives from around the world, who generally appreciated the filmmaker's irreverent (yet compassionate) humor toward to the living legend that is Jean-Luc Godard.
Debate on the international distribution of French-language films
This panel discussion held in the morning of May 22, co-organized by UniFrance at the Palais des Festivals Convention Center, attracted an audience of 150, with speakers notably including Isabelle Giordano and Jean-Paul Salomé. This event offered an opportunity to reflect on ways to streamline the different approaches and create a synergy between French-speaking countries in order to achieve a more effective distribution of film and television content. The round table discussion resulted in a proposal to establish a common baseline for the commercial distribution of French-language films in international markets, making it possible to conduct an annual review of the performance and visibility of these films.
Unifrance, the Institut Français, and the Sodec also made the commitment to work closely together to facilitate the distribution of French-language films around the world.
At the Film Market
The Cannes Film Market was in a state of agitation over François Ozon's new film Amant double (scheduled to be screened in the Official Competition at the end of the festival), which has already been sold in 16 markets, primarily European countries, but also in Latin America and North America.
