The 8th edition of the Young French Cinema program was launched in January 2022. The aim of the program remains the same as in past years: to offer North American movie theaters and universities a simple and flexible programming model for bringing audiences a selection of contemporary French films that have not yet secured distributors, accompanied in some cases by masterclasses and discussions with the filmmakers.
The Young French Cinema program, presented by Unifrance and Villa Albertine, once again shines the spotlight on new generation French filmmakers whose works offer a combination of visually innovative approaches and cultural influences.
Offering a selection of independent works, high-profile documentaries, quirky discoveries, and a short film program, the 2022 edition of Young French Cinema showcases 10 feature films and 8 shorts that were selected at major film festivals around the world in 2021 (such as Cannes and Toronto, among others), with the goal of making them accessible to American audiences outside of New York and Los Angeles. It is worth noting that 8 of the 10 titles in the feature film selection were directed by women.
Given the current health context, the titles included in this year's Young French Cinema program are once again available to North American program directors both online and in physical screenings. For the second year running, Unifrance is also offering a limited number of grants for theaters that commit to screening three or more feature films from the selection.
2022 Feature Film Selection
- Robust by Constance Meyer
- Good Mother by Hafsia Herzi
- Secret Name by Aurélia Georges
- Hard Shell, Soft Shell by Emma Benestan
- The Heroics by Maxime Roy
- The Horizon by Émilie Carpentier
- Magnetic Beats by Vincent Maël Cardona
- The Hill Where Lionesses Roar by Luàna Bajrami
- The Braves by Anaïs Volpé
- Above Water by Aïssa Maïga
2022 Short Film Selection
- The Right Words by Adrian Moyse Dullin
- The Bath by Anissa Daoud
- The Departure by Saïd Hamich Benlarbi
- Locked Out by Julien Goudichaud
- The World Within by Sandrine Stoïanov, Jean-Charles Finck
- Les Tissus blancs by Moly Kane
The complete brochure can be downloaded below (English version only).
Recap of the 2021 Young French Cinema Program
Despite the ongoing health crisis and the large number of theater closures continuing until the spring of 2021, the YFC film program enjoyed a wide circulation: 96 screenings—physical and remote—were programmed in 2021 at 30 sites (movie theaters, cinematheques, universities, Alliancer Française venues) in the different locations, generating around $19,000 in revenues for French sales companies and producers. The films were screened in 16 states across the USA. Offered around twenty screenings since January 2021, My Donkey, My Lover & I is the title that attracted the most interest from theaters and universities. It was closely followed by Red Soil, Faithful and Should the Wind Drop.
Five virtual Q&A sessions and roundtable discussions were organized at universities and North American festivals. At these events, David Dufresne, Farid Bentoumi, Nora Martirosyan, Keren Ben Rafael, Caroline Vignal, and Chloé Mazlo were able to engage in conversation with the general public and students in North America.
