From March 3 through 13, Unifrance and the Film Society of the Lincoln Center will celebrate French cinema during the 16th edition of the Rendez-vous with French Cinema in New York.
A selection of recent French films will be presented at premiere American screenings at the Walter Reade Theater and IFC Center (Manhattan) and the BAM (Brooklyn):
Potiche will open the event at Le Paris cinema, in the presence of, amongst others, Catherine Deneuve, François Ozon, and Judith Godrèche. The Rendez-Vous will serve as a launch platform for the film in the United States as its release, being handled by Music Box Films, is planned for June.
Catherine Deneuve will make the most of her presence in New York and attend the first screenings of the 25-film retrospective dedicated to her at the BAM from March 4 through 31.
This year's selection: The Big Picture by Eric Lartigau, La Campagne de Cicéron by Jacques Davila, Deep in the Woods by Benoit Jacquot, Free Hands by Brigitte Sy, Hand's Up by Romain Goupil, Happy Few by Antony Cordier, Leila by Audrey Estrougo, Living On Love Alone by Isabelle Czajka, The Long Falling by Martin Provost, Love Crimes by Alain Corneau (bought by IFC Films), Love Like Poison by Katell Quilévéré, Mozart's Sister by René Féret (bought by Music Box), The Princess of Montpensier by Bertrand Tavernier (bought by IFC), The Queen of Hearts by Valérie Donzelli, Service Entrance by Philippe Le Guay, The Sleeping Beauty by Catherine Breillat (Strand Releasing has secured the US rights), Think Global, Act Rural by Coline Serreau, Top Floor, Left Wing by Angelo Cianci, and What Love May Bring by Claude Lelouch.
Catherine Breillat, René Féret, Benoit Jacquot, Eric Lartigau, Claude Lelouch, Martin Provost, Coline Serreau, Bertrand Tavernier, and Gaspard Ulliel will be present in New York to accompany their films.
The artists present for the films acquired by distributors will be on hand to give interviews to the American press. The Rendez-Vous are an opportunity for films yet to be bought to increase their visibility with American film industry professionals and to find a potential buyer. Eight sales agents and a producer will accompany the delegation, along with the President of Unifrance Films, Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre and the company's General Director, Régine Hatchondo.
Special events will be organized in the context of the 16th Rendez-vous event:
➢ The FIAF (Institut Français) will welcome Bertrand Tavernier for an encounter with public and Kent Jones, the famous film critic and Executive Director of the World Cinema Foundation, preceded by a screening of L627. The director will also discuss his career at the Walter Reade Theater during a session called "The cinema inside me."
➢The FIAF will also welcome Coline Serreau for a special screening of La Crise and a Q&A session with the public.
➢"A Conversation with Claude Lelouch" will allow festival goers at the Walter Reade Theater to talk directly with the director, who present From One Film to Another, a documentary in the form of a self-portrait.
➢ The IFC Center will offer Catherine Breillat carte blanche.
➢ Série Noire will be presented in homage to Alain Corneau.
➢ Seven short films will be presented in a specific program.
With 13 million spectators in 2010, the United States remains the first export market for French films. The number of French-language films in American theaters is rising (29 films in 2010 compared to 19 in 2009), just as are global admissions for French-language films (+36%).
