Daniela Elstner and the entire Unifrance team would like to extend their warmest thanks to outgoing president and vice president Serge Toubiana and Hervé Michel for the work they accomplished during their two-year joint mandate: "Together with their teams, they have supported the new, unified Unifrance in a post-COVID context, in order to promote the full diversity of French creative work on the international stage."

Gilles Pélisson, the new president elected on July 7, is a graduate of ESSEC and Harvard Business School.

In 1995, he became general manager of Euro Disney, then CEO in 1997.

In September 2001, Gilles Pélisson joined Bouygues Telecom as general manager, then CEO in 2004.

In January 2006, he became general manager of the Accor Group and was appointed́ CEO in February 2009, a position he held until January 2011.

From 2012 to 2016, he was an independent director of the Barrière and TF1 Sun Resorts International groups, and senior advisor to the investment bank Jefferies Inc. in New York.

Director of Accenture PLC since 2012, he was appointed Lead Director in January 2019. He is also the president of Institut Lyfe (formerly Institut Paul Bocuse).

Director TF1 between 2009 and 2023, he was president and CEO of the group from February 2016 to February 2023.

Gilles Pélisson is an Officier des Arts et des Lettres, Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, de l'Ordre National du Mérite.

As a reminder, the steering committee that appoints Unifrance's president is made up of 60 members: the president, the vice president, 14 members by right (representatives of the main professional organizations), 4 statutory members (feature film producer and exporter commissions) and 40 elected members representing Unifrance's various commissions (feature film production, feature film exporters, short film producers, distributors and directors, artistic commission, audiovisual distributors, audiovisual producers).

Unifrance acknowledges the other candidates in this election: Frédérique Bredin, Anne Durupty, and Marie Masmonteil.

Prolific filmmaker Quentin Dupieux returns to Locarno aftering debuting his film Rubber there ten years ago, followed by Wrong and Wrong Cops, in the Piazza Grande – but for the first time he has a title in Competition. Documentary filmmaker Sylvain George was in Competition in 2022 with his documentary Obscure Night - Wild Leaves, the sequel to which he will present in Competition this year.

Obscure night - Goodbye here, anywhere
Four French co-productions complete the French presence in the Competition, with new films from Lav Diaz, Annarita Zambrano, Radu Jude, and Laura Ferrés.

French actor Lambert Wilson will be the president of the Jury this year.

The Piazza Grande selection, named after the majestic town square where the films are screened outdoors, will feature films by Justine Triet, the duo Fiona Gordon & Dominique Abel, Luc Jacquet (back in Antarctica almost twenty years after The Emperor's Journey), Frédéric Mermoud (whose Moka was presented in the Piazza Grande in 2016), and Victoria Musiedlak, in Locarno with her debut feature First Case.

First Case

Another debut film, Bitten by Romain de Saint-Blanquat, will be presented in the Cineasti del presente strand.

Bertrand Mandico's multi-presence is also noteworthy, with Conann and two of its "variations" in short film and VR form, and the Out-of-Competition selection of Émilie Deleuze's new film, Paul Vecchiali's posthumous film, shot in a single day, and the latest documentary by Barbet Schroeder.

Last but not least, French-Danish producer Marianne Slot will receive the Raimondo Rezzonico Prize, awarded each year to a leading figure in the film production world.

Unifrance's presence in Locarno

On Saturday August 5, Unifrance will host a cocktail reception in honor of French cinema, in the presence of the French Ambassador to Switzerland and delegations of French films attending the festival (by invitation only).

Furthermore, as part of its commitment to supporting the international development of emerging French producers, Unifrance has renewed its partnership with the festival, enabling three member companies to take part in the Match Me program!
The names of the selected companies will be announced in mid-July.


 

The French films at the 76th Locarno Film Festival

International Competition

• Yannick by Quentin Dupieux
• Obscure night - Goodbye here, anywhere by Sylvain George
• Do Not Expect Too Much of the End of the World by Radu Jude (French co-production shares not specified)
• Essential Truths of the Lake by Lav Diaz (French co-production shares not specified)
• Rossosperanza by Annarita Zambrano (French minority co-production)
• The Permanent Picture by Laura Ferrés (French co-production shares not specified)

Piazza Grande

• Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet
• Antarctica Calling by Luc Jacquet
• First Case by Victoria Musiedlak
• The Falling Star by Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon
• The Path of Excellence by Frédéric Mermoud
• The Old Oak by Ken Loach (French minority co-production)

Cineasti del presente

• Bitten by Romain de Saint-Blanquat
• Rivière by Hugues Hariche (French co-production shares not specified)
• Excursion by Una Gunjak (French co-production shares not specified)
• Camping du lac by Éléonore Saintagnan (French co-production shares not specified)

Out-of-Competition

• Bonjour la langue by Paul Vecchiali
• 5 hectares by Émilie Deleuze
• Ricardo et la peinture by Barbet Schroeder
• Conann by Bertrand Mandico (French minority co-production)
• We Barbarians (VR - 27') by Bertrand Mandico

Locarno Kids

• Nina and the Tales of the Hedgehog by Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli
• We Have a Dream by Pascal Plisson
• The Emperor's Journey by Luc Jacquet

Semaine de la Critique

• Les Premiers Jours by Stéphane Breton

Short films - Pardi di domani International Competition

• The Vedova Nera by Julian McKinnon and fiume
• Full Night by Manon Coubia

Short films - Pardi di domani National Competition

• Alexx196 & the pink sand beach by Loïc Hobi
• The Island by Julien Pujol

Short films - Out-of-Competition

• Best Secret Place by Jonathan Vinel and Caroline Poggi

Short films - Corti d'autore Competition

• iNTELLIGENCE by Jeanne Frenkel and Cosme Castro
• Rainer, a Vicious Dog in a Skull Valley by Bertrand Mandico

Short films - Piazza Grande

• Dammi by Yann Mounir Demange

The full line-up can be found
on the festival's official site

For each territory, the market shares by broadcast time give an overview of the market configuration and the penetration of French titles. In addition, the top three positions and the distribution of French broadcasts by genre allow us to identify the titles that received the highest broadcast ratio over the period.

For the next indicator, which will be sent in July, Unifrance will focus its analysis on broadcasts in Germany, Spain, the United States, Italy, and the United Kingdom in May 2023.

Unifrance members can download the monthly market indicator of French audiovisual programs on international television below (in French only).

Unifrance: How did you decide to produce this film?

Nicolas DumontNicolas Dumont : What guides us at Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, is the idea of entertaining while making people think, and vice versa. When Romain Cogitore came to talk to us about this project, there was an arena that appealed to us enormously, that of the ZAD ["zone à défendre" - a French neologism for zones that need protecting from future development projects], which had never been used in fiction before. At the time of this meeting, the ZAD already existed in the collective unconscious with the Notre-Dame-des-Landes airport project and the activism contesting it. Now, as we start streaming, the subject is even more topical with the Sainte-Soline massive water bassins project and the occupation by Zadists of this zone. Romain was wondering how to tell a story of impossible love today, and that's where he got the idea for this highly original arena, this meeting between an undercover cop and a Zadist. He had read several testimonies, in particular that of an undercover English policeman who had lived under a false identity for several years while he had met a young woman and built a family life. That was the starting point for the film, but with the idea of approaching the genre by making an insider film, with a thriller dimension, while telling something about our society: commitment, ecology, and the history of the collective, both through the ZAD and through the family.

What was the writing process like, and how did Romain Cogitore manage to faithfully recreate the world of the ZAD, which has restricted access?

ND: Romain's real strength is his sense of romance, but on a very well researched basis. Romain is a very committed person, not only in the values he defends but also in the way he approaches his subjects. To describe the world of the ZAD as accurately as possible, he himself spent a lot of time on a ZAD, at Notre-Dame-des-Landes, to build his characters and design the film's sets. The sets are inspired by the photographic material he brought back from the various ZADs he visited. It was important not to overdo caricature, or stray too far from the reality he had experienced. This documentary work was the foundation, and then we had to bring in the romance, with this love story and its melodramatic dimension.

The film hinges on the antagonism between its two main characters, who fall in love despite everything being against them...

ND: In today's world, the further along we get, the rarer it is to find inextricable love situations, as the barriers to a love story become fewer and fewer. The idea of showing a cop stealing an identity, and of bringing together two characters who are ideologically opposed to each other helps to create this situation. On the one hand, we have Greg, played by François Civil, an undercover cop entirely devoted to his job, who believes in respect for order in a very republican dimension, and on the other an environmentalist activist, played by Lyna Khoudri, who believes that democracy is embodied in the public good, and that the environment and the protection of forests belong to the people. What's more, their meeting is based on a lie. This situation provides all the ingredients for a love story at its most dramatic.

It's both a love story and a militant thriller. How does the film position itself at the crossroads of these genres?

ND: These days, film and audiovisual proposals have to be very clear. We must pay tribute to Disney+, who supported us in this project, which stems from a form of hybridity. If we have to describe the film today, it's a melodrama that starts out as an insider film, with the ZAD as a backdrop, and therefore the question of ecological and political commitment also arise.

How did the film's artistic team come together? 

ND: As far as the visuals were concerned, we wanted to give the project a real cinematographic dimension. We called on  Julien Hirsch, a renowned cinematographer who won a César for Lady Chatterley. Romain loved the way Julien had treated the photography in Fabien Gorgeart's The Family. It inspired him to follow his characters as closely as possible, especially in the first act of the film: we're always behind Greg's back, breathing down his neck. Pascale Consigny did a fantastic job on the set for Léa Fehner's Ogres, a film that also inspired Romain. At every stage, we wanted to put together a team that was highly experienced and committed to the values that the project conveyed. That was very important to us.

François Civil joined the cast very early on. He had acted in Romain's first film and was attached to the project from the start, despite the very long development time. Even though he doesn't talk about it much in the media, he's someone with a real ecological conscience. Lyna then joined us. Her presence was also another of Romain's first wishes, because the couple exude a genuine modernity on screen.

Mathieu Lamboley had already worked with Romain on the music. For the sake of authenticity, Mathieu wanted to work with two instruments. On the one hand, the batucada, a gambe, a somewhat forgotten instrument. The idea was to bring two worlds face to face. The result is some pretty brilliant music, and the soundtrack will be used in conjunction with the film's release. 

How did the filming and reconstruction of the world of the ZAD go?

ND: The film shoot went remarkably well. We could have been worried about the large number of extras, nearly two-thirds of whom were real Zadists. We had nearly 200 extras on the set. But it was a real pleasure, they were attentive and the authenticity of the situation meant we didn't really need to direct the extras. It's a real blessing for the film and you can see it in the images. It was of course impossible to shoot on a ZAD for reasons of restricted access, but also from an ecological point of view. We tried to shoot in a way that preserved as much as possible the natural environment in which we were operating, by recreating an entire ZAD. Once again, I'd like to highlight the fantastic work done by Pascale Consigny and the head set builder Gérard David, based on the photographic material provided by Romain.

What made you decide to work with Disney+?

ND: When we met Disney+, they were already working on series in France. They had just announced Oussekine, but their commitment was limited to series. So we talked to them about our various series projects, but not specifically about Une zone à défendre. Disney+'s language was what we'd expect from a film company, and Romain was very receptive to that. At the same time, they were starting the comm's campaign for Oussekine. It's quite brave to launch into series with a project like Oussekine. In the same way, I think it's very commendable and virtuous to embark on stand-alone films with Une zone à défendre. It shows courage in relation to a fairly original subject and it sets Disney+ apart from the investments made by other platforms in one-off productions.

There was also the idea of a popular entertainment. From the outset, apart from our attachment to the project and the cast, and our desire to work with Chi-Fou-Mi and Romain, we felt that there was a real respect for the text and the author, and a recognition of the producer's work. We knew we weren't going to distort the original proposal. From the reading of the script to the end of the editing, there was a real mutual respect and we were able to benefit from total editorial freedom.

For Disney+, melodrama and insider films are also codes, fairly universal forms of storytelling that can speak to both French and international audiences. The ZAD is a very French concept, but the question was how to make it intelligible to a foreign audience. François and Lyna are very popular in France, but are beginning to be known internationally: Lyna through Wes Anderson and François through The Three Musketeers - D'Artagnan and The Stronghold, which was sold to Netflix for worldwide rights outside France and did very well. In Disney+'s commitment, there was the desire to create a strong project for the French territory but also convey a story whose codes are universal and can transcend borders.

Did you take a different approach when producing for Disney+?

ND: None whatsoever. When we met them, we had drawn up a budget that reflected the actual cost of making the film. There were no discussions about this budget. The composition of the technical team, the casting, and the way the film was shot were exactly the same as for a cinema release. There were no adaptations. Both editorially and financially, we were lucky to have the means and the freedom to make the film we wanted, and I think that shows in the images.

With a story based on universal codes and a cast of young actors with growing reputations, the film has many aspects that could generate international appeal...

ND: The film's quality storytelling and casting, its distinctive visual treatment, beautiful scenery, and original music all combine to create an artistic coherence that is both truthful and immersive. The film also rests on a tension that bolsters the whole story, on the revelation of the true identity of this undercover agent and the collateral damage it will cause. When he returns, he discovers he has a child. This discovery of paternity, and of taking responsibility for his child, is a theme that could not be more universal, that viewers the world over can understand, and that can move us.

What was the initial response from the public, especially after Francia está en pantalla in Madrid and Cabourg? 

ND: When you're familiar with the screenplay, it's easy to forget the effect that plot twists can have. What was most enjoyable about the screenings we attended was the surprise effect on the audience, both when Greg's paternity and his true identity are revealed. Feedback was extremely positive with regard to the originality of the subject and the immersive discovery of this unfamiliar ZAD arena. It's great to see the film's emotional potential. The French public and the few foreign viewers, in this case Spanish, who saw the film had the same reactions. It's reassuring to see how the film will be perceived by French and international audiences alike.

Do you plan to use other festivals to promote the film? 

ND: We'd love to be able to continue doing other festivals, through Disney local or Unifrance! It's important to show that there's a real commitment on the part of platforms, in this case Disney+, to ambitious projects that are less calibrated than one might imagine, with real respect for the creators and producers behind the projects. We work with Disney+, but Disney is still a real movie company, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. What's more, we're always keen to go and meet foreign audiences with a film. I'd love to use festivals to give films a new lease of life in different countries. It would be an opportunity that we, like Disney+, would very much like to take advantage of.

Made by a duo, this 14-minute animated documentary is a journey through the youth of a grandmother and the memories of her intimate life. An illustration of the status of Slovenian women in the first half of the 20th century.

Apart from its César, Granny's Sexual Life has been selected and awarded around the world, including Best Short Film at the European Film Awards (EFA) (2022), Best Animated Short Film at the International Short Film Festival Nijmegen (Go Short), and the Grand Prix at the Tampere Film Festival.

Thanks to Ikki Films

Click here to see the film

The film is not available in the following territories Slovenia, Albania, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Moldavia, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia, and Bulgaria.

Diminished box office results for French films in theaters abroad

French films registered 3.4 million admissions and generated €14.6 million in ticket sales in foreign theaters in May. Despite the number of films in theaters and new releases in line with previous months, the French titles on offer attracted the lowest monthly volume of foreign viewers since September 2022 (1.5 million), 42% lower than in April.

Firstly, February, March, and April were marked by the international launches of Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom and The Three Musketeers – D’Artagnan which sent the counters soaring; secondly, May traditionally opens the summer season for big Hollywood blockbusters, with, in 2023, a richer and more "aggressive" selection than in the last three years, monopolizing cinemas and audiences' attention. That said, thanks to solid continuity and successful launches, French films maintained their place on the international scene.

The five majority-French productions the most seen on the big screen abroad were exactly the same as in April, but in a different order. For the third time, Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom topped the monthly rankings, with 215,000 new admissions, including 139,000 in Germany (Leonine, €1.13 million in box office revenues) and 46,000 in Austria (Constantin, €0.45 million). Comedy thus confirmed its leadership, remaining the biggest success of the current year with 2.48 million tickets sold outside France! For the past four months, Argonuts has held on to second place on the podium, benefiting this month from launches in Spain (Notorious, 83,000 admissions and €0.44 million), Czech Republic (Bioscop, 18,000 and €0.13 million), Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia (Blitz, 17,000 and €0.07 million), and Slovakia (Magic Box, 13,000 and €0.09 million). Third place was held by The Three Musketeers - D'Artagnan : iscovered by 47,000 moviegoers in Poland (Monolith, €0.19 million), it stood out as the most popular new release in the week of its launch and took third place in the local top 10. Five productions attracted more than 100,000 spectators abroad (-1 compared with April and March) and together accounted for 37% of monthly admissions: in addition to the three titles mentioned above, they include Driving Madeleine and The Crime Is Mine. The first continued to attract German and Japanese audiences, with 135,000 (StudioCanal, €1.2 million) and 110,000 total admissions respectively (Shôchiku, €0.97 million); the second has begun its Spanish career with 52,000 tickets sold (Caramel, €0.29 million) and reached 115,000 admissions in Italy (Bim, €0.76 million). 10 films continue to be shown in more than 10 markets each, including one in more than 20: The Three Musketeers – D’Artagnan.

The Three Musketeers - D'Artagnan

Spain, Germany, and Italy: the top three territories in May

As usual, Europe remains the leading geographic region for the theatrical distribution of French films. In May, in the western zone of the continent nearly 1.3 million spectators chose to see a French production. Nevertheless, with the exception of Asia (+29%), admissions fell on all continents, notably by over 50% in Latin America and Eastern Europe. Spain (293,000 admissions), Germany (250,000), and Italy (157,000) topped the monthly territories by number of spectators, and the three other markets offering over 100,000 admissions were also European. The leading non-European territory was South Korea (75,000), boosted by the 42,000 tickets sold by the minority-French production Triangle of Sadness (Green Narae, €0.29 million), ahead of Japan (61,000) and Vietnam (49,000).

Comedies, dramas, and adventure films were the most popular genres

Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom, Driving Madeleine, and The Crime Is Mine ensured that comedy remained the favourite genre internationally, with attendance figures close to those in April. Thanks to the fine performances of Return to Seoul and the minority-French productions Close and The Eight Mountains, the latter two narrowly missing the symbolic 100,000 admissions mark, audiences for dramas increased by 12.5% in one month. As for animation fans, they were also more numerous (+3.2%), flocking to Argonauts, Ernest and Célestine : A Journey in Charabia, and Around the World in 80 Days, which reached the number one position of the Slovenian top 10 based on its opening week admissions (Blitz, 10,000 and €0.06 million). Adventure films, on the other hand, relinquished 78.6% of ticket sales generated in April.
Majority-French productions (67% of total admissions) and French-language productions (77%) accounted for the lion's share of the month's admissions, but were also the ones to suffer the biggest monthly drop in spectators (-51% and -46%) compared with minority-French (+18%) and foreign-language productions (-9%).

French films at international festivals in May 2023

While May was dominated by the Cannes Film Festival, with a wide selection of French films, other events also took place beyond France's borders. IndieLisboa, the international festival of independent cinema in Lisbon, and the Jeonju International Film Festival respectively welcomed 18 and 34 French productions and co-productions among their selections, with a particular focus on French documentaries. Hence, Orlando, My Political Biography, which had its world premiere in Berlin and has  won four awards, continued to win over audiences, and rounded off its prize list with the Special Jury Prize at the Jeonju Film Festival. Young Cinema, which will screen at the 52nd Rotterdam International Film Festival in early 2023, was also among the documentaries present at both Indielisboa and Jeonju. On the fiction front, Rodeo, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2023, continued its festival tour at the Portuguese and Korean events in May, after being selected for the French Film Festival in Japan organized by Unifrance in December 2022, where its director, Lola Quivoron, and its screenwriter and lead Antonia Buresi, were present.

Orlando, My Political Biography

> This report can be downloaded in PDF format below (French version only).

> This report is based on results recorded on June 7, 2023. Since our statistics for film releases are continuously being updated, the graphics generated automatically on our website will differ from the chart feature in this article.

Festivals

Beginning with Francia está en pantalla, an event organized by Unifrance. Isabelle Huppert, present in Madrid, declared on Radio Cadena Ser: "What's a scandal today is commonplace tomorrow."
➡️ Read the article online

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival is the other must-attend event of the month. Animation Magazine reported on the fine record of French animation.
➡️ Read the article online

El País highlighted the importance of this festival: "Animation, the last furrow of creativity in cinema."
➡️ Read the article online

Audiovisual focus

In C21, Isabelle Graziadey outlined Terranoa's plans to expand into sport and true crime.
➡️ Read the article online

SeñalNews interviewed Sophie 'Kido' Prigent about the success of Grizzly and the Lemmings.
➡️ Read the article online

Director Vincent Maël Cardona revealed the genesis of his series Haven of Grace in Drama Quarterly.
➡️ Read the article online

Movietele revealed that the Deadly tropics series will be broadcast in Italy this summer.
➡️ Read the article online

World Screen interviewed Patrice Courtaban, president of TV5 USA.
➡️ Read the article online

While Noticine.com focused on actress Julia de Nunez's projects after Bardot: "The Argentinean BB will continue her university studies."
➡️ Read the article online

The daily El Diario announced that the series Serial Lover will be broadcast in Spain by Atresmedia.
➡️ Read the article online

El Español, another daily, announced that Antena 3 will soon be broadcasting the third season of HIP.
➡️ Read the article online

The RTBF has signed an agreement to broadcast the animated series Runes, TBVision reported.
➡️ Read the article online
 

In Canada and the United States, MHZ Choice reported on the upcoming broadcast of the series Louis XXVIII, "an outrageous French comedy."
➡️ Read the article online

Theatrical releases

In Australia, Film Ink focused on Driving Madeleine: "A deeply sentimental film, it leans heavily into treacle-sweet nostalgia and is entirely unapologetic for it."
➡️ Read the article online

From Poland, the daily Rzeczpospolita featured Houria : "Dance liberates and brings hope."
➡️ Read the article online
 

In Quebec, ThatShelf.com reviewed Other People's Children: "Virginie Efira delivers a warm, radiant performance."
➡️ Read the article online

In the United States, the New York Times published an interview with Sébastien Lifshitz about his documentary Casa Susanna, broadcase on PBS.
➡️ Read the article online

In German-speaking Switzerland, the daily Der Bund provocatively asked in its headline about Léonor Serraille, director of Mother and Son: "As a white woman, is she legitimate as a director?"
➡️ Read the article online

In Mexico, Milenio magazine reviewed One Fine Morning: "As rich and deep as the best French cinema."
➡️ Read the article online

We finish this roundup with the homage to Jean Eustache at the Lincoln Center in New York, including the presentation of the 4K restoration of The Mother and the Whore
➡️ Read the article online


 

With over 1,000 members at the end of 2022, Unifrance renewed the elected members of its six commissions at its General Meeting on Tuesday June 27, 2023.

They are distributed as follows:

• Feature film producers
• Producers of audiovisual works
• Feature film exporters
• Distributors of audiovisual works
• Artistic commission
• Commission for producers, distributors and directors of short films

It should be noted that the duration of mandates (authorities and presidency) has been extended from two to three years.

The full list of 2023-2026 authorities
can be found in the downloadable document attached.