The 23rd Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris, organized by UniFrance, will take place online from Wednesday, January 13 through Friday, January 15, 2021.
Traditionally, more than 350 European buyers come to Paris for this unique event, which is a veritable launching pad for the distribution of French films on European screens for the coming year. More than forty export companies participate, presenting their films and unveiling their lineup for the year ahead. At the same time, more than 120 invited international journalists conduct interviews with the French artists present, representing films that will be released in Europe during the year.
For this digital edition, Unifrance, in partnership with Cinando, will offer a secure site dedicated to online screenings. World premieres of French films are expected, and a one-day presentation of lineups is scheduled for January 13. Traditionally reserved for European buyers, this year the Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris will be extended to buyers from all over the world. Versions of the Rendez-vous market are also expected to take place physically in certain territories.
The international press junket, which takes place alongside the Rendez-vous and which allows French artists to meet with European journalists to accompany the release of the films for the coming year, will operate in a semi-hybrid version: in person for the artists and online for the journalists.
MyFrenchFilmFestival, the first online French-language film festival will launch its 11th edition on January 15. The selection and the International Jury will be announced on January 5. This 11th edition will offer for one month, to internet users around the world, ten short films and ten feature films in competition, as well as a selection of films presented out of competition, all subtitled in ten languages. Internet users will be able to find the films of the selection on MyFrenchFilmFestival.com, but also on sixty VOD platforms that will relay the festival worldwide.
Finally, in 2021, which still promises to be disrupted by the Covid-19 crisis, the Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris will offer encounters between those who make French films and those who get them out into the world: round tables between film industry professionals, discussions with European journalists, and master classes given by film artists will make these online Rendez-vous an essential moment of reflection on the export of French cinema.
