At the end of the 28th edition of Rendez-Vous With French Cinema à New York, whose attendance figures exceeded those of the pre-pandemic period, Unifrance and Film at Lincoln Center are pleased to announce that the 4th Rendez-Vous Audience Award was given by the public to For My Country by Rachid Hami, and that the second Best Emerging Filmmaker Award, given by a jury composed of six New York students, went to The Five Devils by Léa Mysius.
It was hence For My Country, the new film by Rachid Hami, which received the 4th Audience Award (after Les Éblouis in 2020, Petite fille in 2021, and Rise in 2022). . The film is also part of the 8th Young French Cinema program, initiated by Unifrance and Villa Albertine.
The 28th edition also saw the presentation of the 2nd Best Emerging Filmmaker Award to Léa Mysius for The Five Devils (soon to be released in theaters and on VoD in the U.S. by Mubi), an award designed to draw attention to the unique cinematic points of view of emerging French filmmakers and their interpretations of France's new and diverse identities. Six students from New York universities were invited to participate in the Student Jury for the Best Emerging Filmmaker award, from among the seven first and second feature films in the selection.
The Student Jury, selected by the professors of the Rendez-Vous partner universities:
- Andrea Leon, College of Arts & Science Undergraduate, New York University
- Tyler Simeone, Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, City University of New York – Brooklyn College
- Elena Paraponiaris, French Department Undergraduate, Hunter College
- Allanah Elster, Film & Media Studies Undergraduate, Columbia University
- Ferman Victor Siasat, Film Studies Undergraduate, School of Visual Arts
- Eliza Anderson, French and French-language Undergraduate, Fordham University
A sharp increase in attendance figures
This year, the festival's attendance figures jumped to a level rarely reached, with 9500 tickets sold (for an overall rate of between 80 and 90% houses) while 8000 spectators were registered in 2019 (pre-pandemic), dropping down to 7000 last year. This is an increase of 20% compared to the pre-pandemic period. This should be put in perspective with the fact that international films have seen their box office drop by about 40% between 2019 and 2022. The very important promotional work carried out by Unifrance and Film at Lincoln Center hence achieved results beyond expectations, assisted also by the presence of a magnificent French delegation that made the journey, led in particular by Virginie Efira and Alice Winocour, who launched this edition on March 2 with the screening of Paris Memories.
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