29/02/2024 - 21 feature films, many accompanied by directors, are set to be screened between 29 February and 10 March in this 29th edition of the event organised by Unifrance and Film at Lincoln Center

Carried by the tailwind of eight nominations (five for Anatomy of a Fall [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Justine Triet
film profile], one for Four Daughters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile], one for the minority French co-production Robot Dreams [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], and two films featuring in the animated short film category) at the upcoming Oscar Awards, the winners of which are due to be announced on 10 March, French film production is set to be showcased in the USA between 29 January and 10 March on the occasion of the 29th  Rendez-Vous With French Cinema in New-York, organised by Unifrance and Film at Lincoln Center. The event was opened today by Thomas Cailley’s The Animal Kingdom [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thomas Cailley
film profile] (which was discovered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section and just walked away with five Césars, the Lumière for Best Director, and the Louis Delluc Award).

In all, 21 feature films representing a wide range of genres appear in the event programme, and 17 filmmakers will accompany their films in New York, attending screenings and subsequent Q&A sessions with the audience. Stealing focus amongst these are 11 works directed by women, including four feature films: Cannes competitor Banel & Adama [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ramata-Toulaye Sy
film profile] by Ramata-Toulaye Sy, All to Play For [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Delphine Deloget
film profile] by Delphine Deloget (also discovered on the Croisette, in the Un Certain Regard section), Sisterhood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nora El Hourch
film profile] by Nora El Hourch (unveiled in the Toronto Platform line-up) and First Case [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Victoria Musiedlak
film profile] by Victoria Musiedlak (screened in the Locarno’s Piazza Grande).

Five other films which are directed by women and have previously screened in Cannes are also jostling on the agenda: the docu-fiction film Little Girl Blue [+see also:
film review
interview: Mona Achache
film profile] by Mona Achache (to be shown in the presence of Marion Cotillard), The Rapture [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Iris Kaltenbäck
film profile] by Iris Kaltenbäck (awarded the Lumière and Louis Delluc trophies for Best First Film), Just the Two of Us [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valérie Donzelli
film profile] by Valérie Donzelli, Àma Gloria [+see also:
film review
interview: Marie Amachoukeli
film profile] by Marie Amachoukeli and Marguerite’s Theorum [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anna Novion
film profile] by Anna Novion (which earned Ella Rumpf the Best Newcomer César and Lumière awards). This distinctly female wave is rounded off by Vanessa Filho’s Consent [+see also:
film review
film profile] and Héléna Klotz’s Spirit of Ecstasy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Héléna Klotz
film profile] (screened in Toronto Platform).

Likewise gracing the agenda are two titles unveiled in San Sebastián (Red Island [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Robin Campillo and A Real Job [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thomas Lilti
film profile] by Thomas Lilti), Nicolas Philibert’s Golden Bear-winning documentary On the Adamant [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicolas Philibert
film profile], Rabah Ameur-Zaïmèche’s highly original movie The Temple Woods Gang [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (screened in the Berlinale Forum), Toni [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Nathan Ambrosioni, Auction by Pascal Bonitzer, Les Indésirables [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ladj Ly and Giordano Gederl…
film profile] by Ladj Ly (selected for Toronto Special Presentations) and two further movies showcased in Cannes: No Love Lost [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Erwan Le Duc
film profile] by Erwan Le Duc and The Book of Solutions [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michel Gondry
film profile] by Michel Gondry.

Prizes in the offing consist of an Audience Award and the Prize for Best Emerging Filmmaker (courtesy of a jury composed of six film studies and French studies students).

In addition to film screenings, a Professional Day scheduled for 1 March will see a dozen or so French international sales agents presenting their line-ups to American distributors and programmers. This will be followed by a panel discussion on the state of the American market and the distribution of French and international films in the USA, with representatives notably hailing from Neon, IFC and Film Forum. Also worth a mention on 8 March is a round table entitled "Navigating Production in a World Reshaped by Local and Global Events", in which Agnès Vallée (Les Films du Parc and 31 Juin Films), Justin Taurand (Les Films du Bélier), Yoni Golijov (All the Beauty and the Bloodshed) and Nikkia Moulterie are set to take part. Last but not least, unfolding on the fringes of the event, six masterclasses delivered by French filmmakers attending the Rendez-Vous are due to be held in various New York universities (including Columbia University, NYU, Hunter College and Fordham University).

(Translated from French)