Unifrance and Film at Lincoln Center announce the 29th Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in New York

09 FEBRUARY 2024

The Rendez-Vous With French Cinema in New York - 2024, an annual French cinema showcase in the USA, organized by Film at Lincoln Center in collaboration with Unifrance, will celebrate films by Marie Amachoukeli, Michel Gondry, Valérie Donzelli, Robin Campillo, Pascal Bonitzer, Ladj Ly and many other others, accompanied by a large delegation of artists, from February 29 through March 10, 2024, in the presence of artists including Marion Cotillard, who will present Little Girl Blue with Mona Achache.

The program for this 29th edition demonstrates once again the vitality, creativity, and depth of contemporary French cinema in a range of different genres.

In the words of Florence Almozini, artistic director of Film at Lincoln Center, "The impressive lineup features a host of French talent, introduces promising new directors, making their mark with their first or second feature, and welcomes back seasoned filmmakers eager to present their latest gem to New York audiences."

This year's festival is especially proud to present debut films by four emerging female directors, Victoria Musiedlak, Ramata-Toulaye Sy, Iris Kaltenbäck, and Nora El Hourch. Over one half of the films programmed this year are directed by women.

The opening ceremony will be dedicated to Thomas Cailley, who will present The Animal Kingdom, a film that has been hailed by Daniela Elstner, Executive Director of Unifrance: "This remarkable film, along with this year's selection, is a great example of the vitality and diversity of French cinema today. This year's lineup, along with the recognition of Anatomy of a Fall at the Oscars, highlight what French cinema represents for American audiences today: an alternative voice and a vision of human relationships and world issues."

The following actors and directors will be in New York for the 2024 Rendez-Vous (list subject to change): Thomas Cailley, Delphine Deloget, Marie Amachoukeli, Pascal Bonitzer, Ramata-Toulaye Sy, Vanessa Filho, Victoria Musiedlak, Ladj Ly, Valérie Donzelli, Mona Achache, Marion Cotillard, Anna Novion, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Nicolas Philibert, Iris Kaltenbäck, Thomas Lilti, Robin Campillo, Nora El Hourch, Héléna Klotz, Nathan Ambrosioni, and Erwan Le Duc.

The encounters

A dialogue between Thomas Cailley, director of The Animal Kingdom, and the Franco-American screenwriter/director Sophie Barthes (Cold Souls, Madame Bovary, The Pod Generation) is scheduled for the first day of the festival.

A roundtable, held in partnership with French In Motion and The Gotham Film & Media Institute, will bring together Agnès Vallée, producer of the work of Thomas Lilti (whose film A Real Job will be screened at the Rendez-Vous), Justin Taurand (producer of Spirit of Ecstasy) Yoni Golijov (producer of the documentary by Laura Poitras All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, winner of the Golden Lion at Venice in 2022), and Nikkia Moulterie (producer of Nanny, which was notably selected at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022).

A day for professionals

A day dedicated to industry professionals will be held on March 1st, with the aim of facilitating meetings between, on one side, French sales agents and producers, and, on the other, American distributors and television programmers. The event will begin with a series of presentations of upcoming French films by around a dozen international sales agents, followed by a networking lunch. In the afternoon, the French professionals will have the opportunity to join a panel discussion on the current state of the American market and the distribution of French and international films in the United States, with representatives from Neon, IFC, Film Forum and Trackshot PR agency.

Awards and school screenings

Voting for the 5th edition of the Audience Award will be open to all movie enthusiasts present at the festival. In addition, a jury composed of six students studying film and French from New York tertiary institutions will select their first and second choices for the winners of the Best Emerging Filmmaker Award. These two awards will be announced shortly after the closing of the festival.

In order to encourage students and young audiences to attend the event, six masterclasses led by French directors attending the Rendez-Vous will be held at prestigious New York universities (Columbia University, NYU, Hunter College, and Fordham University, among others).
Finally, a large number of children at schools in the region will be invited to attend free screenings of Toni, A Real Job, and the documentary To Be and to Have by Nicolas Philibert (2002).