The 2019 edition of the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in Paris, which closed its doors on January 21, was a resounding success. Its four-day program offered a full agenda for the international buyers and sales agents (with around 600 international guests welcomed at the event), and the French artists and journalists taking part in the meetings.
The 2019 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in Paris, the world's biggest film market and press junket dedicated exclusively to French films, took place from January 17 through 21.
A few key figures from the event:
Film Market
- 481 accredited participants from foreign countries: distributors, TV buyers, representatives from VOD platforms, and exhibitors
- 64 countries represented
- 43 French sales companies present with individual booths
Film Screenings
- 76 films screened to foreign buyers
- 49 titles that had never previously been screened at an international market
Top 10 attendance figures for films shown at the market
- The Mystery of Henri Pick by Rémi Bezançon (Gaumont)
- Love at Second Sight by Hugo Gélin (STUDIOCANAL)
- Who You Think I Am by Safy Nebbou (Playtime)
- Invisibles by Louis-Julien Petit (Charades)
- Heavy Duty by Bertrand Blier (Orange Studio)
- Tanguy is Back by Étienne Chatiliez (SND)
- Sweetheart by Lisa Azuelos (Pathé)
- Roxane by Mélanie Auffret (TF1 Studio)
- No Filter by Éric Lavaine (Gaumont)
- Casanova, Last Love by Benoit Jacquot (Elle Driver)
Press Junket
A veritable marathon of interviews (over 2,600, which is 1,000 more than last year, setting a new record!) were held with 120 journalists from 32 countries, who were keen to discover the new faces of contemporary French cinema and check out the latest work by established talents, with 125 actors and directors interviewed by international press representatives this year to promote the upcoming commercial release of their films (the interviews related to 115 feature films, compared to 97 in 2018).
551 film releases scheduled in 2019 around the world were covered by the press junket—an effective way of ensuring wide visibility for all of these French films at the time of their international release, which will be handled by 205 foreign distributors.
This 21st Rendez-Vous event was also an occasion for UniFrance to make a number of important presentations on January 19 at the French Ministry of Culture:
- The release of provisional results for French films in international theaters in 2018
In 2018, French films attracted 40 million spectators abroad (down 52% against 2017) and generated €237 million in box office revenues. After a year of renewed market growth in 2017, we have now returned to figures close to those of 2016 (by comparison, French films in the home market registered 77 million admissions in 2018).
- Launch of the 9th edition of MyFrenchFilmFestival in the presence of the members of the festival's Directors' Jury, the filmmakers Houda Benyamina, Coralie Fargeat, Mikhaël Hers, Kim Nguyen (Canada), and Jaco Van Dormael (Belgium).
- The French Cinema Award was presented to Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano, in the presence of the Minister for Culture Franck Riester and a large number of movie industry figures. This award celebrates the directing duo's contribution to raising the profile and visibility of French films around the world.
