12/01/2022 - Paris is playing host to 250 foreign buyers who have travelled to the capital in person to discover the French titles currently gracing French sales agents’ books, and future works too

Having kicked off yesterday with an Export Day (read our news) and the first of three days dedicated to their audiovisual market, the 24th UniFrance Film Meetings (due to wrap on Sunday) are set to get down to business tomorrow by way of the film market. Dynamic and plentiful as ever, from 13 to 16 January French sales agents will be negotiating with 250 foreign distributors who have made the journey to the capital so as to find what they’re looking for within a screening line-up consisting of 88 French films and 55 market premières. These professionals will make their way around the Champs-Élysées, in full respect of current Covid guidelines, navigating between the Balzac, Publicis, Club de l’Etoile and Lincoln cinemas and the Hôtel du Collectionneur, which will act as the market’s beating heart. The Film Meetings’ traditional press-junket, meanwhile, will unfold online, featuring over 150 French artists (leading thirty or so French films expected to be released worldwide this year) who will be interviewed by 141 journalists hailing from 33 countries.

Five market premières stand out for Other Angle Pictures, chiefly Simone: The Journey of the Century by Olivier Dahan, which will be screened tomorrow evening during the opening gala ceremony (despite its French release being pushed back from 23 February to 12 October), Cœurs vaillants [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Mona Achache, The Snow Must Go On [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Stéphane Cazès, Licence to Build by Éric Fraticelli and Love is Better than Life by Claude Lelouch.

Four premières are on the agenda for Charades in the form of The Kitchen Brigade [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Louis-Julien Petit, the documentary Last Dance by Coline Abert, The Test [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud and Her Way [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Cécile Ducrocq.

Urban Distribution International are set to unveil Juan José Lozano and Zoltán Horváth’s animated feature Red Jungle [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], while France TV Distribution will be pinning their hopes on Little Man Tom [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Fabienne Berthaud, Elle Driver on The Companions by François Favrat, Pulsar Content on Wilderness Therapy [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Édouard Deluc, Memento International on Tropic of Violence [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Manuel Schapira and Be for Films on South Sentinel [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mathieu Gérault
film profile] by Mathieu Gérault.

Three premières steal focus for Pyramide International, namely Cop Goes Missing [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Frédéric Videau, The World of Yesterday by Diastème (article) and Not My Type [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Michel Leclerc.

Playtime will be wagering on premières of About Joan [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laurent Larivière
film profile] by Laurent Larivière, which will be presented within the next Berlinale’s Special Gala line-up, 15 Ways to Kill Your Neighbour [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Santiago Mitre and Ogre [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Arnaud Malherbe.

Three market premières are on the cards for Le Pacte, meanwhile, in the form of Thierry Demaizière and Albal Teurlai’s documentary Rookies [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thierry Demaizière and Alba…
film profile], which will topline the upcoming Berlinale’s Generation line-up, Farewell Paris [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Édouard Baer and On the Edge [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Giordano Gederlini
film profile] by Giordano Gederlini. Also worth a mention among the other screenings on offer is that of The Family [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Fabien Gorgeart, which is surfing on the buzz thus far generated ahead of its French release on 16 February.

Wild Bunch International are offering a colossal line-up, as per usual, screening The Road Ahead [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Nessim Chikhaoui in a market premiere and launching or pursuing pre-sales on a myriad of French titles, including Other People's Children [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rebecca Zlotowski
film profile] by Rebecca Zlotowski (in post-production, toplined by Virginie Efira and Roschdy Zem), Sticking Together [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern, The Innocent [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Louis Garrel, The Five Devils [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Léa Mysius, Saint Omer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alice Diop
interview: Kayije Kagame
film profile] by Alice Diop, Rascals [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Jimmy Laporal-Trésor, The Young Imam [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Kim Chapiron and Blazing Neon [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by FGKO, without forgetting The Stars at Noon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Claire Denis, Brother and Sister [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Arnaud Desplechin, Incredible But True [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Quentin Dupieux
film profile] by Quentin Dupieux, The New Toy [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by James Huth, the documentary Whale Nation by Jean-Albert Lièvre, Rebel [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fal…
film profile] by Belgian duo Adil el Arbi and Bilall Fallah, and Tori and Lokita by fellow Belgians Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, to name just a few.

Five market premières are in the planning for The Party Film Sales, including those of Goodnight, Soldier by Hiner Saleem, Summer Frost [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Laetitia Masson, Too Close to the Sun [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Brieuc Carnaille, the documentary A guide To Love and Fighting Capitalism by Basile Carré-Agostini and the animated film My Neighbors’ Neighbors [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Anne-Laure Daffis et Léo Marchand.

Five premières will likewise come courtesy of the Gaumont sales team, who will be screening Kung Fu Zohra [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mabrouk El Mechri
film profile] by Mabrouk El Mechri, which will soon take part in the Rotterdam Film Festival’s Big Screen competition, Rumba Therapy [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Franck Dubosc, Rosy – The Forbidden Journey by Marine Barnérias, The Wannabes by Jonathan Barré and the documentary Heart of Oak [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Laurent Charbonnier and Michel Seydoux.

Pathé International will be pinning their hopes on premières of Farewell Mr Haffmann [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Fred Cavayé (which is hitting French cinemas today), The Time of Secrets by Christophe Barratier, King by David Moreau and Christmas with the Tuche by Olivier Baroux, while StudioCanal will unveil Rise [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Cédric Klapisch and Plancha by Éric Lavaine.

Shining bright within Bac Films’ line-up, meanwhile, who have just announced their acquisitions will now be sold by Wild Bunch International, is the market premiere of Carlo Vogele’s Luxembourg-Belgian-French animated title Icarus and the Minotaur.

Worth a final mention are the two market premières on the agenda for Wide - Black Substance by Carl Carniato and Entre nous by Jude Bauman – while Reservoir Docs are set to unveil Francesca & Love [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Alba Sotorra and Marie-Jo Will See You at 4 [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Camille Ponsin.

SND will also be in attendance, with market premières of Maigret [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Patrice Leconte, The Bodins [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Frédéric Forestier and Employee of the Month [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Jérôme Commandeur, while Orange Studio are set to unveil Say Cheese [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by François Uzan, TF1 Studio are wagering on Two Much for the Job [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Frédéric Quiring, and Salaud Morisset will be trying their hand with Emma Benestan’s Hard Shell, Soft Shell [+see also:
trailer
film profile].

The many other French international sales agents will also be in action throughout the event, promoting their works either side of these various premières.

(Translated from French)