Unifrance is delighted to welcome French sellers and buyers from all over the world to the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Le Havre, the world's largest market for French audiovisual programs, which will be held for the second year running on the Normandy coast from September 1 to 5, 2025.
The Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Le Havre kicks off on Monday, September 1 with an evening event at MuMA, the Musée d’Art Moderne André Malraux, at the invitation of the Mairie du Havre. On Wednesday September 3, participants will also be invited by the Région Normandie to an evening event at the Palais Bénédictine in Fécamp.
The video library will open its doors on Tuesday, September 2 at the Carré des Docks, initially to buyers only, from 9am to 12:30pm, for a morning entirely devoted to viewing the most recent French audiovisual programs represented in all their multiplicity of genres: fiction, animation, documentary, live performance, and entertainment. These programs, available on the event's viewing platform, will be accessible on-site in the video library and online.
At the same time, French distributors will be invited to a morning of conferences, running from 10am to 12pm, including the announcement of export figures for French audiovisual programs in 2024, co-presented by the CNC and Unifrance.
The market will open its doors on Tuesday, September 2, from 1:30pm, to host members' meetings until the end of the day on Thursday, September 4. The video library will remain open to buyers for the duration of the market.
This year's gala evening will take place on Tuesday, September 2 at 7pm, and will feature the fiction series Vendetta (6x52’), created by Ange Basterga, written by Ange Basterga, Pierre-Marie Mosconi, and Emmanuelle Michaux, produced by CPB Films, and distributed by France tv distribution. Thierry Neuvic and Vahina Giocante play the main characters in this Corsican family saga, which spans the 1990s to the present day. The artistic teams will be on hand to present an exclusive screening of the first episode of the series at the Pathé Docks Vauban, and to exchange views with foreign professionals at a festive dinner to be held in the Carré des Docks auditorium.
©Marine Danaux - CPB Films - France Télévisions
The closing evening will take place on Thursday, September 4 at 7pm, at Magic Mirrors, and will feature the Barbapapa en famille ! series (104x11’), created, written, and directed by Alice Taylor and Thomas Taylor, and distributed by FESTIVAAL Distribution. On the occasion of the series' 55th anniversary, the most popular of families is back on screen to once again enliven children's daily lives.
Throughout the event, accredited guests will be invited to discover, at dinners and screenings, a number of productions due to hit the screens soon:
- The documentary Nature: The Call for Reconciliation (105’), written and directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, and distributed by Federation Studios. This film traces the history of life, from its cosmic origins to its contemporary challenges, and calls for a collective transformation to reconcile humanity with nature. The documentary will be screened at the Pathé Docks Vauban cinema at midday Tuesday.
- The drama series Phoenix (6x45'), created by Louis Aubert and Matthieu Bernard, co-written by Clément Marchand, directed by Franck Brett and distributed by Mediawan Rights. Starring Natacha Lindinger, François Berléand, Marie Colomb and Léo Legrand, it follows the Alpha Group, an underground organisation that decides to fight climate inaction by kidnapping, on the eve of a European forum, the children of corporate leaders, in order to force them to live up to their commitments. The series will be screened at the Pathé Docks Vauban cinema at midday Wednesday.
- Season 2 of the dramatic series Escort Boys (6x45’), written by Marc Syrigas, Ruben Alves and Yael Lebrati Attuil, directed by Ruben Alves, and distributed by Wild Bunch TV. After a successful first season, the series reunites its four protagonists — played by Guillaume Labbé, Thibaut Evrard, Corentin Fila, and Simon Ehrlacher — who are forced to return to escorting just when they were on the brink of saving their family estate. The series will be screened at the Pathé Docks Vauban cinema at midday Thursday.
Unifrance has retained a formula that has proven its effectiveness in promoting and selling French audiovisual programs. Unifrance is delighted to be working with the city of Le Havre and the Région Normandie, and would like to thank them for renewing their confidence in Unifrance for this second edition in Normandy.