True to its reputation for bringing people together, the Trouville Off-Courts Film Festival, held from September 7 to 13, did not fail to deliver, and even defied the vagaries of the weather to offer us a remarkable edition, rich in events and encounters around short films. And even though the festival had to reduce its size, the professionals – some of whom came from faraway lands – and the public confirmed their attachment to this festival, whose sole aim is to unite people around a unique cinematographic form. Once again, the gamble paid off: according to the organizers, 2024 was a record year in terms of audience numbers.
France was very well represented, with over a hundred films across all sections, which 17 titles were in Competition. The Unifrance Trouville Award, endowed with €1,000 for the producer/s and €500 for the director, went to Furious by Thomas Vernay, produced by Cumulus, Iconoclast Films, and 7ème Étage Production. In addition to this prize, our partner TitraFilm offered the production company €1,500 worth of technical services, to be used on a future film.
The full French selection can be found here
Awards
- Best Director Award: Raphaël Jouzeau for his Scars We Love
- Audience Award: Yuck! by Loïc Espuche
- Critics Prize: My Teenage Blackout by Basile Khatir
- Office Franco-Québécois pour la Jeunesse Award: Suleyman by Mehdi Hamnane and Yanis Hamnane
- Unifrance Award: Furious by Thomas Vernay
- Les Cures Marines Best Performance by an Actor Award: Moustapha Mbengue for Suleyman by Mehdi Hamnane, Yanis Hamnane
- Best Original Music Award: Thomas Peyrounette for On the 8th Day by Agathe Sénéchal, Alicia Massez, Élise Debruyne, Flavie Carin, and Théo Duhautois
- France Télévisions Award: Hannah Taïeb and Les Quatre Cents Films
- Jury Special Mention: Nicolas Panay for Alarms by Nicolas Panay
- Jury Mention for Documentary: Elliot Totzauer and Emma Sandona for Increvables
The 18th Film Market (September 9-12)
In a changing economic context for the short film market, and as the event seeks to develop its international activities, asserting itself as a place for networking, meetings, and exchanges, Unifrance lent its support to 18th edition of the market, an important rendezvous in the annual calendar of film industry events. Particular attention was paid to partners from the French-speaking world, with exchanges on the circulation of short films in French-speaking countries.
Among the key moments, on Wednesday September 11, Unifrance presented the results of its analysis of international sales of French short films in 2023. Presented by Axel Scoffier, Deputy Managing Director of Unifrance, and Anaïs Colpin, Vice President of the Short Film Commission, the results demonstrate the extent to which the short film economy owes its survival to the hard work of all the professionals who support the industry on a daily basis.
The report can be found here
This was followed by a round table discussion moderated by Isabelle Le Guern about exporting short films to the French-speaking world, with panelists from several French-speaking countries:
- Axel Scoffier, Deputy Managing Director – Unifrance
- Geneviève Kinet, Project Manager – Wallonie-Bruxelles Images (WBI)
- Annabel Sebag, Head of Sales – Miyu Distribution – and member of the REC
- Nathalie Masset, Coordinator, Belgian Short Film Agency
- Sébastien Merckling, Executive Assistant – Spira (Quebec)
They described the facilities and mechanisms in place in their respective organizations, before discussing with the audience the new resources to be deployed and possible cooperative ventures to improve the circulation of works in the French-speaking world.
During the 18th Film Market, the notable presence of an African delegation was also the occasion for a panel entitled “Understanding the African Territory,” moderated by producer Gaëlle Jones, with the presence of:
- Claire Diao, CEO of Sudu Connexion
- Joël Tchédré, Creator of the Emergence Festival in Lomé (Togo)
- Trésor Senga, Director of the Mashariki AF Festival (Rwanda)
To close these professional meetings, Unifrance hosted a cocktail reception at the Galerie Blaise Factory, in partnership with Wallonie Bruxelles Images.
