– Running 5 to 15 March, the 31st edition of the event organised by Unifrance and Film at Lincoln Center will screen 22 feature films in the company of 19 directors
In A Whisper by Leyla Bouzid
Tomorrow will see The Stranger [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: François Ozon
film profile] by François Ozon – unveiled in competition in Venice and crowned Best French Film of 2025 at the Lumières Awards – opening the 31st edition of the Rendez-Vous With French Cinema, which is organised by Unifrance and Film at Lincoln Center and unspooling in New York between 5 and 15 March.
In all, 22 feature films will grace the agenda, with 19 filmmakers set to accompany their films to New York, participating in screenings followed by conversations with the public. Standing tall among these works are three films scheduled to enjoy their North American premieres (Berlin competitor In A Whisper [+see also:
film review
interview: Leyla Bouzid
film profile] by Leyla Bouzid and two titles by Pascal Bonitzer: Maigret and the Dead Lover and Hugo) and five screening in US premieres: The Money Maker [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jean-Paul Salomé
film profile] by Jean-Paul Salomé (now boasting 1.1 million admissions in France), Venice competitor The Wizard of the Kremlin [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Olivier Assayas, Affection affection [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Maxime Matray and Alexia Walther (discovered in Locarno’s Filmmakers of the Present section), Meteors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hubert Charuel and Claude L…
film profile] by Hubert Charuel (unveiled in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section) and Claire Simon’s documentary, Writing Life: Annie Ernaux Through the Eyes of High School Students [+see also:
film review
interview: Claire Simon
film profile] (unveiled in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori line-up).
Nine other filmmakers will make the journey to New York with their movies, six of which were discovered in Cannes: Dominik Moll with Case 137 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dominik Moll
film profile] (crowned with the Best Actress César and Lumière awards), Stéphane Demoustier with The Great Arch [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stéphane Demoustier
film profile] (honoured with the Best Screenplay Lumière and two technical Césars), Pauline Loquès with Nino [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pauline Loquès
film profile] (named Best First Film at the 2026 César and Lumière awards), Anna Cazenave Cambet with Love Me Tender [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anna Cazenave Cambet
film profile], Cédric Klapisch with Colours of Time [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cédric Klapisch
film profile], and Julia Ducournau with Alpha [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which is set to close the Rendez-Vous. Another title from Cannes, The Little Sister [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hafsia Herzi
film profile] by Hafsia Herzi, will likewise be in on the action, represented by its young, multiple-award-winning actress Nadia Melliti.
Likewise limbering up to meet New York audiences are Valérie Donzelli with her Venice-rewarded movie, At Work [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valérie Donzelli
film profile], Arnaud Desplechin with Two Pianos [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arnaud Desplechin
film profile] (previously selected in competition in San Sebastián) and Fabienne Godet (joined by her actor Salif Cissé) with the comedy Guess Who Is Calling? [+see also:
film review
film profile].
Screenings rounding off the event are Robin Campillo’s Enzo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robin Campillo
film profile], Louise Hémon’s The Girl in the Snow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Louise Hémon
film profile] and Aurélien Peyre’s L’Épreuve du feu.
An Audience Award and a prize for Best Emerging Director are also set to be handed out (by a jury of six French film students hailing from New York universities).
In addition to film screenings, a Professional Day scheduled for 6 March will see a dozen French international sales agents presenting their line-ups to US distributors and programmers. This will be followed by a panel discussion entitled “New Voices in Cinema: Producing a Filmmaker’s Debut in France and the United States”, involving French professionals Paulines Loquès (Nino) and producer Julie Billy (June Films), and their US producer colleagues Leah Chen Baker (Le Gâteau du Président) and Stephanie Roush.
Last but not least, unfolding on the margins of the event are four masterclasses due to be delivered by French filmmakers attending the Rendez-Vous, which are taking place in various universities (François Ozon in Princeton and Olivier Assayas in Columbia) as well as in the French Lycée in New York.
(Translated from French)
