Unifrance presents a French Cinema Award to Cédric Klapisch

Created in 2016 by Unifrance, the French Cinema Award (designed by Jean Lamore for Daum*), celebrates a figure in the French film industry who has worked to promote and enhance the profile of French cinema around the world.

During the ceremony launched on Rue de Valois by the French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati referred to “a period of complex changes and tensions” in the world, while hailing the vitality of French production and its performance abroad. “These results make me optimistic. The battle ahead will be difficult, but you know how determined I am, and I know that together we can win it. This battle is based on defending our model both in France and in Brussels, particularly with regard to the United States. It relies on your determination and your efforts; that is how we can succeed.”

Gilles Pélisson, president of Unifrance, congratulated the young directors and actors of the Unifrance 10 to Watch 2026—most of whom were present at the event—emphasizing that "in these times of division and tension, it has never been more necessary to collectively defend creative freedom and the values of tolerance and fraternity that underpin our cultural model. You will be its leading faces and ambassadors, so thank you!"

Daniela Elstner then looked back on Cédric Klapisch's long and rich career, recalling the filmmaker's key films that have left their mark on the minds and hearts of millions of viewers around the world. “In thirty years, you have never stopped believing, either in your dreams of cinema or in the power of your stories. I've heard you say that you love the word ‘embody.’ Well, for us at Unifrance, you embody the international stage.”

In his acceptance speech, Cédric Klapisch confirmed the importance of travel in his inspiration as a filmmaker: "It was during my studies in New York that I really learned how to make movies. That trip left a lasting impression on me, which is undoubtedly why I made Pot Luck, I subsequently traveled to many countries thanks to my films and to Unifrance, and visiting China, India, South and North America, and all of Europe greatly nourished my imagination and my future films."

The filmmaker was surrounded by friends who had come to attend the ceremony, including some of the cast of Colours Of Time —Suzanne Lindon, Abraham Wapler, Vassili Schneider, and his longtime actor Zinedine Soualem, who has appeared in almost all of the director's films.

Introducing the 10 to Watch 2026

This ceremony threw the spotlight on the 2026 selection of the Unifrance 10 to Watch (10 artists to follow, selected by journalists from the trade press, whom Unifrance will promote internationally over the coming year), with eight of them in attendance: Ugo Bienvenu, Valentine Cadic, Anna Cazenave Cambet, Salif Cissé, Alice Douard, Guillaume Marbeck, Thomas Ngijol, and Ella Rumpf (Théodore Pellerin and Ji-Min Park were absent).

* Art is the visible expression of emotions, a universal language. It is even “made to disturb,” according to Braque. To evoke Daum is to awaken memories of an ancestral art form. It also bears witness to an unbreakable bond with the art world, through more than 400 collaborations (Armand, Braque, Dalí, Mesnager, and Kongo, to name but a few). Through the French Cinema Award, Maison Daum wanted to highlight the brilliance of a magical piece representing the wings of an angel in white crystal, designed by Jean Lamore, a true symbol of the pure emotion of aesthetic pleasure.