Unifrance will be present at the Cannes Film Festival from May 12 to 23 to help promote the works and artists of French cinema.
The organization will be taking up residence in its two usual spaces:
• The Unifrance Terrace, a stone's throw from the Croisette, will welcome the crews of French productions and co-productions presented at the festival (all selections included), the international press, and host numerous events.
• The Unifrance booth, located in the Marché du Film (Riviera L0), will have a larger space this year. It will host several French international sales companies and will be available to its members. It will also host meetings between Unifrance teams and their contacts throughout the festival.
THE VENUES
The Unifrance Terrace in Cannes, a special space at the service of French cinema on the international scene
The Unifrance Terrace will be set up for the ninth consecutive year at 5 rue des Belges, a stone's throw from the Palais des Festivals, in a space spread over three levels designed to welcome the crews of French productions selected in Cannes for their interviews with the international press.
The venue will also host numerous private events (by invitation only): cocktail receptions (in honor of foreign distributors and French exporters, for animation films, documentaries, etc.), the presentation of the Unifrance Short Film Awards, working breakfasts (in the presence of audiovisual attaché networks, or in honor the French short films selected at the festival), lunches and dinners (for Critics' Week, in honor of the Unifrance 10 to Watch or to celebrate the winners of the Unifrance Short Film Awards).
The Unifrance Terrace will also serve as the setting for video interviews conducted by Unifrance with artists, to support promotional efforts in Cannes and, later, the international release of the films on Unifrance’s social media channels (notably @MyFrenchStories) and to assist foreign distributors and festivals. A photo studio (run by photographer Marie Rouge) will produce portraits that can be made available to the international press and international festivals with which Unifrance partners.
An exhibition featuring portraits of filmmakers and actors, taken by photographers Marie Rouge and Laura Stevens during the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris and the Cannes Film Festival, will also be presented on the Unifrance Terrace.
The Unifrance booth at the Marché du Film
Unifrance will be present alongside industry professionals at its 160-square-meter booth located within the Marché du Film (Riviera-L0), which will host meetings for Unifrance member producers and exporters and will house four export companies (Dandelooo, MPM Premium, Octopolis – nWave Pictures, and Salaud Morisset), as well as several short film sales companies.
This space will also be the venue where Unifrance teams will meet with their members and film industry colleagues: directors and selectors of foreign festivals, international distributors, representatives of VOD platforms, exporters, market managers, audiovisual attachés, cultural advisors, partners, and export professionals.
Two Festivals Happy Hours (by invitation only), conceived to encourage – in a convivial way – exchanges between French professionals and their foreign counterparts, are also planned, with a focus on international festivals and producers.
HIGHLIGHTS
Launching the Marché on the Unifrance Terrace with foreign distributors and French exporters
Unifrance's traditional cocktail reception honoring foreign distributors and French exporters will take place on Wednesday, May 13 (by invitation only) on the Unifrance Terrace. This gathering, which will mark the start of the Marché du Film, will be followed by numerous professional events taking place on the Unifrance Terrace or at the Unifrance booth, such as the working breakfast bringing together French audiovisual attachés and Unifrance teams, or the Festivals Happy Hour (Saturday, May 16).
French documentaries on the Unifrance Terrace
On Thursday, May 14, Unifrance will join Cannes Docs & EURODOC to host, on the Unifrance Terrace, Cannes Docs' opening cocktail reception (by invitation only).
Meetings focusing on exports
Unifrance will participate at the lunch devoted to French cinema in the world organized by the CNC on its beach on Thursday, May 14, that will bring together some 100 French and foreign guests: institutions, distributors, festival directors, exporters, etc.
In addition, Axel Scoffier, Deputy General Director of Unifrance, will participate on Saturday, May 16, in the “Émergence” panel discussion to be held at the Institut français Pavilion on the Critics' Week beach; On May 20, Sarah Hemar, Director of Audiovisual at Unifrance, will speak as part of the “ICC and Soft Power” panel on the ARTE boat.
French animation on the Unifrance Terrace
On Sunday, May 17, Unifrance will join the Marché du Film / Animation Day to host, on the Unifrance Terrace, a cocktail reception celebrating animation, in partnership with the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, German Films / Animation Germany, and Japan, the country in the spotlight in 2026 (by invitation only).
French short films on the Unifrance Terrace
- On Tuesday, May 19, the 24th Unifrance Short Film Awards, as well as the 8th Unifrance Distributor x Fête du court-métrage Awards, will be announced in the presence of the recipients and the members of the 2026 juries. The ceremony will be followed by a cocktail reception and dinner bringing together the winners (by invitation only).
- On Thursday, May 21, Unifrance is organizing a short film breakfast, bringing together the directors of French short films selected in all Cannes' strands (by invitation only).
THE 10 TO WATCH IN CANNES
Initiated by Unifrance in 2014, the Unifrance 10 to Watch program aims to contribute to the emergence of new French movie talents in the international arena, by raising their profile outside France (through contact with journalists, festival programmers, broadcasters, and foreign audiences) and, in this way, to participate in the constant renewal of French cinema icons.
The artists who make up the 10 to Watch are selected by an international committee of film journalists (Rebecca Leffler for Screen International, Fabien Lemercier for Cineuropa, Jordan Mintzer for The Hollywood Reporter, Christine Masson for France Inter, and Mariam Schaghaghi, (a freelance journalist for the German press). The 10 to Watch 2026 were announced last January at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris.
On May 20 these emerging talents will be put in the spotlight at Cannes through a press lunch with French and international journalists, followed by a red-carpet photo session arranged with the Cannes Film Festival, and a dinner on the Unifrance Terrace (by invitation only).
The following members of the "Class of 2026" will be present: Ugo Bienvenu, Valentine Cadic, Anna Cazenave Cambet, Salif Cissé, Guillaume Marbeck, Thomas Ngijol, Ji-Min Park, Théodore Pellerin, and Ella Rumpf.
Unifrance will also produce video content (interviews, encounters, etc.) to promote, via social networks, this new generation of artists to foreign audiences.
For any press enquiries about the Unifrance 10 to Watch program, please contact [email protected]
10 to Watch in Cannes benefits from the collaborative participation of the Cannes Film Festival, and the invaluable support of L'Oréal Paris and Davines.
UNIFRANCE ONLINE
Unifrance will be present during the festival on its usual social networks (Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook) and will deliver several series of daily posts: interviews with French filmmakers and artists, video clips dedicated to the 10 to Watch program...
This coverage will be amplified by the presence at Cannes, alongside Unifrance, of content creators Cécilia Jourdan & Criselis Pérez (@hellofrench) and Víctor Salmerón (@cinemaexcelsiorr).
Institutional communication will be reserved for LinkedIn.
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Unifrance’s presence in Cannes is made possible thanks to the invaluable support of: Estandon Coopérative en Provence & Super Bock (Official Suppliers), Acqua Panna / S.Pellegrino, Dammann Frères, and Davines.
Unifrance also thanks its partners: République française, CNC, Institut français, PROCIREP, and TITRAFILM.
The organization also thanks the Unifrance Endowment Fund patrons: Accor (Grand Patron), BNP Paribas (Patron), and Maison Pommery & Associés (Patron).
Media Gallery
© Marie Rouge & Laura Stevens / Unifrance
© Marie Rouge & Laura Stevens / Unifrance
© Christophe Martin / Unifrance
© Christophe Martin / Unifrance
© Christophe Martin / Unifrance
© Christophe Martin / Unifrance
© Christophe Martin / Unifrance
© Christophe Martin / Unifrance
