02/03/2023 - 21 feature films accompanied by numerous directors are set to screen between 2 and 12 March during the 28th edition of the event, organised by Unifrance and Film at Lincoln Center

Today will see Paris Memories [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alice Winocour
film profile] by Alice Winocour opening the 28th edition of the Rendez-Vous With French Cinema in New York event, unspooling 2 – 12 March courtesy of Unifrance and Film at Lincoln Center. The director (who’s due to talk about her career for an hour ahead of the screening, in a Free Talk with Sophie Barthes) will be attending with her lead actress Virginie Efira (victorious at Friday’s Cesar Awards thanks to this role, which won her Best Actress, and who’s also giving a Free Talk the following day). According to Daniela Elstner, Unifrance’s CEO, "their presence highlights what French cinema represents for American audiences today: an alternative voice and a vision of human relations, global issues and collective consciousness which transpires through this year’s selection."

In total, 21 feature films are set to be showcased in the line-up and 16 filmmakers will accompany their works to New York for screenings followed by Q&A sessions with the audience. Stealing focus among these is Louis Garrel (who’ll also be honoured with a Free Talk) with The Innocent [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (as well as for The Plough [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by his father Philippe Garrel – crowned with the Best Director award in Berlin), Dominik Moll with The Night of the 12th [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dominik Moll
film profile] (which scooped six Cesars, including Best French Film), Rebecca Zlotowski with her Venetian competitor Other People’s Children [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rebecca Zlotowski
film profile], Christophe Honoré with Winter Boy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christophe Honoré
film profile] (showcased in Toronto before nabbing an acting award in San Sebastián) and Patricia Mazuy with Saturn Bowling [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Patricia Mazuy
film profile] (unveiled in competition in Locarno).

Rising stars from among the younger generations who are set to attend the event include Léonor Serraille with Cannes competitor Mother and Son [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Léonor Serraille
film profile], Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret with The Worst Ones [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Romane Gueret and Lise Akoka
film profile] (which bagged the Un Certain Regard Prize on the Croisette), Léa Mysius with The Five Devils [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Rachid Hami with For My Country [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rachid Hami
film profile], Sébastien Marnier with The Origin of Evil [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Nicolas Pariser with The Green Perfume [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Cédric Ido with The Gravity [+see also:
film review
film profile], Ramzi Ben Sliman with Neneh Superstar and Florent Gouëlou with Three Nights A Week [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Florent Gouëlou
film profile].

Actor Melvil Poupaud will be presenting Arnaud Desplechin’s Brother and Sister [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], with other screenings including Diary of a Fleeting Affair [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuel Mouret
film profile] by Emmanuel Mouret, Smoking Causes Coughing [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Quentin Dupieux, Forever Young [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
film profile] by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (which just earned Nadia Tereszkiewicz the Best New Hope Cesar, as well as the Acting Revelation Lumière Award) and Harkis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Philippe Faucon
film profile] by Philippe Faucon. Worth a final mention is the round table entitled "Queer Identities on Screen" which will notably involve Florent Gouëlou and Christophe Honoré.

An audience award is also due to be handed out, for the fourth time, and for the second consecutive year a Best Emerging Filmmaker prize will be awarded - as chosen by a jury of six students from New York who are studying film (and French) – to one of the various first and second feature films on the agenda.

(Translated from French)