2025 begins for Unifrance, as usual, with the Rendez-Vous in Paris. Over 500 buyers from all over Europe will discover some 90 films and audiovisual works, and meet with nearly 100 audiovisual exporters and distributors. All in a single venue for the first time, thanks to the Accor group and the Pullman Montparnasse Hotel for their support and commitment. We also thank the Sofitel Arc de Triomphe Hotel, which for four days will be hosting the hundred or so international journalists who have come to meet the artistic teams behind over 120 films and audiovisual programs.
Our Rendez-Vous will open in the magnificent Pathé Palace cinema, renovated by Renzo Piano. Here again, we aknowledge the efforts of the Pathé team, with the screening of Grégory Magne's latest feature, The Musicians, which will allow us to open this year with music, after having ended it with great fanfare and The Marching Band!

The 2024 figures for French films on the international market, unveiled at Export Day, follow the decline in box-office worldwide – with the exception of France. But we can count on the excellent performances of a number of films, such as Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre De La Patellière's The Count of Monte Cristo, Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall, Laurent Bru and Yannick Moulin's The Jungle Bunch: World Tour, and Artus' A Little Something Extra, to name but a few. Germany regained its number-one position in terms of admissions for French titles, and the very promising release of The Marching Band on December 26 closed 2024 on a high note, opening 2025 under the best of auspices!

Of course, we have in mind the four Golden Globes added to the already impressive list of awards for Jacques Audiard's Emilia Pérez; congratulations also to Coralie Fargeat, a long-standing member of our artists' committee, for the incredible career of The Substance. And let's not forget other French productions, such as Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light or Gints Zilbalodis' Flow, as well as documentaries like Mati Diop's Dahomey. Last but not least, we'd like to mention short films, which don't lack for inventiveness – here too, we're waiting for the Oscars selection, which has unfortunately been postponed until January 23 due to the dramatic fires currently affecting Los Angeles.

In 2024, no fewer than 253 French titles were selected for the top 10 international festivals, an undeniable boost to the influence and dissemination of our films. In 2025, we'll be stepping up our action at selected European category A festivals with the creation of Club Unifrance, bringing together committed partners.

On the audiovisual front, even if the end of the year was overshadowed by difficult news, particularly in terms of animation and documentary production, we're confident that 2025 will be able to ward off these frailties with some pleasant surprises for our audiovisual works on the international scene. Unifrance will be as close as possible to the needs and expectations of professionals, and will continue to tirelessly support French talent and the creativity of our programs, which have confirmed their appeal to audiences. In 2025, we will be strengthening new market initiatives in selected countries, in consultation with our members.

Our January Rendez-Vous week would not be complete without the announcement of the 10 to Watch 2025, ambassadors of French cultural diversity and its values, who Unifrance will be supporting throughout the year, and the launch of the 15th edition of our online event, MyFrenchFilmFestival, with its prestigious jury – Zar Amir, Viggo Mortensen, Noémie Merlant, Tarik Saleh, and Andreï Zviaguintsev. And let's not forget the French Cinema Award presented by Unifrance to director Rebecca Zlotowski, in recognition of her prodigious creative freedom, as well as her taste for, and commitment to, the international cinema scene alongside Unifrance.

In our creative industries, where each unique work is a prototype, collective action is not necessarily very obvious or natural! Unifrance's mission is precisely to federate energies, know-how, and talents to participate in or create events, like these Rendez-Vous, or in Cannes, and all over France and the four corners of the world at festivals, for all genres: from animation to documentaries, short films, all types of film and all audiovisual works...

This mission, all the more essential in the current period, combines physical and digital presence, thanks to a coherent editorial strategy centered on the works and those who create and bolster them. It would not be possible without the involvement of the public authorities, the MEAE, and the CNC, our main financial backer, with whom we work with complete trust; nor would it be possible without the mobilization of all Unifrance departments: thank you for your hard work, including during the festive season.

With the entire management team, we wish you all an excellent 2025, and a productive and successful Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris!
 

Gilles Pélisson and Daniela Elstner
President and Executive Director of Unifrance