Changing Rooms by Violette Gitton was awarded the Unifrance Grand Prize 2024.
In Changing Rooms, the young prodigy Violette Gitton tackles, with an ambitious cinematic gesture, a societal issue from the perspective of teenagers: the complexity of masculinity. While the starting point is a sexual assault, the uniqueness and strength of the film lies in the fact that the director places her subject not from the point of view of the victim (Lou), but from that of her brother (César). Played by Marius Plard, making his first screen appearance, and Billie Blain (seen in The Animal Kingdom and Cassandre) the film highlights the repercussions such an incident can have on a teenager's future.
Embracing the cause of the short film means taking a close look at a format whose essential position in filmmaking development cannot be overstated. It is rich in the diversity of its forms, full of cinematic promise and a bright future.
Born of Unifrance's desire to help festivals, broadcasters and audiences around the world discover the immense range of French production, the Unifrance Short Film Awards have, over the years, established a strong foothold that today gives it a legitimacy recognized well beyond our borders.
At Unifrance, our aim has always been to make short films known to as many people as possible, and to give these works greater visibility, while affirming our support and attachment to the young generation and to emerging talent, whether filmmakers or producers.
The 2024 selection comprised 26 titles (16 dramas, 8 animations and 3 animated documentaries), including 9 first works, from 15 directors, in a diversity of styles and worlds. 11 of the 26 films are the result of co-productions with Argentina, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Estonia, Lithuania, Portugal, and also Palestine, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
The jury
- Guadalupe Arensburg Caellas – Movistar+ (Spain)
- Bénédicte Bourgois – RTBF (Belgium)
- Laurence Côte – Actress, winner of the Best Actor Prize 2022 (Le Point de reprise by Nicolas Panay)
- Maguette Betty Danfakha – Director of the Dakar Court Festival (Senegal)
- Isabelle Gibbal-Hardy – Director of Le Grand Action movie theater
- Nicole Gillet – Director of the Festival de Namur (Belgium)
- Gilles Reunis – Be TV (Belgium)
The awards
On April 26, at the end of their day of screenings, the jury attributed the awards, which we are proud and happy to reveal at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, in the presence of the winners, Axel Scoffier (General Secretary), Benjamin Bonnet (President of the Unifrance Short Film Commission), Isabelle Gibbal-Hardy, and Maguette Betty Danfakha (jury members).
Grand Prize
Changing Rooms by Violette Gitton
Production co.: Films Grand Huit
Distributor: Shortcuts
Special Jury Prize – Grand Action Prize – RTBF Prize
Palestine Islands by Nour Ben Salem and Julien Menanteau
Production cos.: Topshot Films – Made in Palestine Project
Distributor: Manifest
Best Actor
Benjamin Siksou in Robespierre by Pierre Menahem
Production co.: Barberousse Films
Be TV Prize (Belgium)
Suleyman by Mehdi and Yanis Hamnane
Production cos.: Mondina Films – Dissidence Production
Distributor: Hors du bocal
Movistar+ Prize (Spain)
Ashen Sun by Camille Monnier
Production cos.: Novanima – Animal Tank
Distributor Prize
This award ceremony is also an opportunity to recognize the international distribution work of a distributor. In their shared desire to support French creation on the international stage, to promote the short format, and to spotlight the filmmakers of tomorrow, Unifrance and La Fête du court métrage have for several years been supporting the artistic approach of a distribution structure, both in terms of the way it promotes works in the network of foreign festivals, and the way it increases their visibility in commercial circuits.
The jury, composed of Lucie Guerin (Head of Cinema and Series Projects at the Institut français), Guilio Casadei (Director of the Festival de Brive), and Grégoire Graesslin (Head of Festivals at Kinology) awarded the Distributor Prize 2024 to Miyu Distribution, directed by Luce Grosjean.
The jury statement: "This distinction rewards an exceptional year in 2023, with a Palme d'Or (27 by Flóra Anna Buda) and a remarkable international presence. We were particularly impressed by Miyu Distribution's ability to project itself into the future while constantly enhancing its catalog. The company has succeeded in creating a unique identity around each of its works, and is now establishing itself as a key label in the animation industry."
A special mention went to EROÏN Films for the inventiveness and passion with which Audrey Clinet accompanies the films in the company's line-up. Following a unique business model, the company has distinguished itself by its ability to build diversified, alternative trajectories for the titles it promotes internationally.
Our partners
Unifrance would like to warmly thank its partners for their unwavering support, their love of short films and the keen eye they bring to bear on a genre like no other.
TitraFilm, Le Grand Action, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Shortfilmdepot, Courant3D, La Fête du Court-Métrage, and Brefcinéma.
Our thanks also go to Gilles Cuvelier, for the visual that illustrates the 22nd edition of the Unifrance Short Film Awards.
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