Unifrance will be present in Cannes from May 16 to 27 to help promote the works and artists of French cinema. The organization will be present in its two usual spaces: the Unifrance Terrace, just off the Croisette, where the teams of French films presented at the festival (all selections included), the international press, and numerous events will be hosted; and the Unifrance stand, located in the Marché du Film (Riviera L1), which will accommodate four French international sales companies, and will be available to its members on an ad hoc basis. Meetings between Unifrance teams and their key contacts (major international festivals, distributors from the main French film markets, etc.) are also planned during the festival.
The spaces
The Unifrance Terrace in Cannes, a special place at the service of French cinema on the international scene
The Unifrance Terrace will be set up for the sixth consecutive year at 5 rue des Belges, a stone's throw from the Palais des Festivals, in a space spread over three levels designed to welcome the crews of French productions selected in Cannes for their interviews with the international press.
The teams of the films by the following directors are already expected to attend this year (subject to change): Thomas Cailley, Wang Bing, Faouzi Bensaïdi, Cédric Kahn, Catherine Corsini, Kaouther Ben Hania, Stéphan Castang, Katell Quillévéré, Michel Gondry, Justine Triet, Martin Provost, Anna Novion, Valérie Donzelli, Catherine Breillat, Trần Anh Hùng, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Maxime Rappaz, Felipe Galvez...
The Unifrance Terrace will also serve as a setting for video interviews conducted by Unifrance with the artists, in order to accompany promotion during Cannes and, later, the release of the films. A photo studio (entrusted to photographer Marie Rouge) will allow portraits to be produced that can be made available to the international press and to foreign festivals in which Unifrance is a partner.
A photo exhibition composed of portraits of filmmakers and actors taken by Marie Rouge during the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris in January 2023, will also be presented on the Unifrance Terrace.
The venue will also host numerous private events (by invitation only): cocktail receptions (in honor of foreign distributors and French exporters, for animation films, documentaries, etc.), the presentation of the Unifrance Short Film Awards, dinners (the Critics' Week jury, Unifrance's 10 to Watch, the winners of the Unifrance Short Film Awards, and the Œil d'or — the Cannes Documentary Prize), etc.
The Unifrance stand in the Marché du Film
Unifrance will also be present alongside professionals through its 130 square-meter stand located in the Marché du Film (Riviera-L1), which can host meetings for Unifrance member producers and exporters, and will house four export companies: Mediawan Rights, MPM Premium, Urban Sales, and Reservoir Docs.
This space will also be the venue where Unifrance teams will meet with their contacts: directors and selectors of foreign festivals, international distributors, representatives of VOD platforms, exporters, market managers, audiovisual attachés, cultural advisors, partners, and export professionals.
A happy hour, conceived to encourage – in a convivial way – exchanges between French professionals and their foreign counterparts, is also planned for Saturday, May 20 (by invitation only).
Highlights
Launching the Marché on the Unifrance Terrace with foreign distributors and French exporters
Unifrance's traditional cocktail reception, which honors foreign distributors and French exporters, will be held on Wednesday, May 17 on the Unifrance Terrace (by invitation only). This meeting, which will mark the beginning of the Marché du Film, will be followed by numerous professional events that will be held either on the Unifrance Terrace or at the Unifrance stand, such as the working breakfast that will bring together French audiovisual attachés and Unifrance teams and the Franco-German Film Academy cocktail reception (by invitation only).
French documentary on the Unifrance Terrace and off-site
On Thursday, May 18, Unifrance will join Cannes Docs, EURODOC, and Cinéma du Réel to host, on the Unifrance Terrace, Cannes Docs' opening cocktail reception (by invitation only).
Unifrance will also participate in a panel discussion at the World Cinema Pavilion on Friday, May 19, organized by the Institut Français. The discussion will focus on the issues involved in the international promotion of documentaries. It will be immediately followed by a second one, in the same context, co-organized by SRF directors and the Institut Français, and will reflect on the role of the director in contemporary film production.
During the festival, Unifrance will also organize a breakfast with ACID around the directors of French documentaries presented in the selection, in the presence of international professionals.
Meetings focusing on exports
Unifrance will participate in the Export Meeting organized by the CNC on its beach on Thursday, May 18. The event will include a roundtable discussion, moderated by Unifrance's Executive Director, Daniela Elstner, on the "cinema of tomorrow," the challenges of innovation in distribution and marketing 3.0. These meetings will be followed by a luncheon (by invitation only) that will bring together some 100 French and foreign guests: institutions, distributors, festival directors, exporters, etc.
French animation on the Unifrance Terrace
On Sunday, May 21, Unifrance will join the Marché du Film / Animation Day, Annecy Animation Film Festival, German Films / Animation Germany to host, on the Unifrance Terrace, a cocktail reception celebrating French animation (by invitation only).
French short films on the Unifrance Terrace and off-site
- On Thursday, May 25, the 21st Unifrance Short Film Awards will be announced in the presence of the recipients and the members of the 2023 Jury. The ceremony will be followed by a cocktail reception (by invitation only).
- In addition, Unifrance will participate in the Short Film Corner breakfasts on Sunday, May 21, Monday, May 22, and Wednesday, May 24.
Special initiatives
10 to Watch in Cannes
Initiated by Unifrance in 2014, the "10 to Watch" program aims to contribute to the emergence of new French movie talents in the international arena, by raising their profile outside France (through contact with journalists, festival programmers, broadcasters, and foreign audiences) and, in this way, to participate in the constant renewal of French cinema icons.
The artists who make up the "10 to Watch" are selected by a committee of film journalists (Variety, Screen International, Cineuropa, The Hollywood Reporter). The list of the 10 to Watch 2023 was revealed by Unifrance last January, during the Unifrance Rendez-vous in Paris.
These emerging talents will be highlighted at Cannes through a press lunch, followed by a red-carpet photo session arranged with the Cannes Film Festival, and a dinner on the Unifrance Terrace on Wednesday, May 24. Unifrance will also produce video content (interviews, meetings, etc.) to promote this new generation of artists on social networks to foreign audiences. The following are already confirmed at this stage Bastien Bouillon, Davy Chou, Céline Devaux, Paul Kircher, Charlotte Le Bon, Annabelle Lengronne, and Nadia Tereszkiewicz.
Critics’ Lab
Launched for the first time at Cannes in 2022, Critics' Lab is an initiative designed to support the emergence of a diverse and inclusive English-language critical community, while strengthening its ties with French film artists and professionals.
Thus, on the proposal of Unifrance, three eminent American and British film journalists (Eric Kohn – Executive Editor and VP, Editorial Strategy at IndieWire; Finn Halligan – Executive Editor, Reviews and New Talent at Screen International; Lovia Gyarkye – Arts and Culture Critic at The Hollywood Reporter) have nominated three emerging journalists (Robert Daniels, Khushi Jain, and Kelli Weston), from the United States and the United Kingdom, who are representative of the diversity of our society. They will be invited by Unifrance to the Cannes Film Festival to cover new-generation French cinema. Their daily reviews, in the form of video clips, will be broadcast on Unifrance's social networks.
On site, these young journalists will be supervised by Unifrance and their three mentors to enhance their experience and enjoy special networking opportunities.
Unifrance online
Unifrance on social networks
Unifrance will be present during the festival on its usual social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok, as well as YouTube) for several series of daily posts: interviews with French filmmakers and artists, video reviews from the Critics' Lab (see above), and video clips dedicated to the 10 to Watch program in Cannes. Institutional communication will be reserved for LinkedIn.
Unifrance's presence in Cannes benefits from the precious support of: TitraFilm, Champagne Brimoncourt, Estandon Coopérative en Provence, Davines, Dammann Frères, Nespresso & S.Pellegrino.
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