06/03/2025 - Organised by Unifrance and Film at Lincoln Center, the event will screen 22 feature films in the company of numerous directors between 6 and 16 March

The 30th edition of the Rendez-Vous With French Cinema in New-York, organised by Unifrance and Film at Lincoln Center, is unspooling 6 to 16 March. Having proven its great efficiency over time, both in terms of promotion and from an industry perspective, the event played to a full house last year, selling a total of 8,400 tickets. This year, the opening taking place today falls to Venetian competitor Three Friends [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which is directed by Emmanuel Mouret (who’ll be attending the event accompanied by actress India Hair).

In all, 22 feature films and one documentary series (the latter broadcast in a single block) are all jostling on the agenda, and 15 directors are set to attend screenings of their films in New York, followed by Q&A sessions with audiences. Stealing focus among these is an incredibly promising new generation of French filmmakers wielding five first feature films, three of which were previously screened in Cannes (Louise Courvoisier’s phenomenon Holy Cow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Louise Courvoisier
film profile], which recorded upwards of 900,000 admissions in France and which won the César for Best First Film, Ghost Trail [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonathan Millet
interview: Pauline Seigland
film profile] by Jonathan Millet, which scooped the Louis Delluc Best First Film Prize, and Wild Diamond [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agathe Riedinger
film profile] by Agathe Riedinger, which was thrust straight into Cannes’ Official Competition) and the remainder being Winter in Sokcho [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Koya Kamura
film profile] by Koya Kamura (well-received in Toronto’s Platform section and in San Sebastian’s New Directors line-up) and Arenas [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Camille Perton (acclaimed in the IFFR’s Bright Future section).

A total of 12 films previously unveiled in Cannes are gracing the agenda, which also includes Souleymane’s Story [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Boris Lojkine
film profile] by Boris Lojkine (whose lead actor, Abou Sangare, won the Un Certain Regard Prize, the European Film Award and the César for Best Male Newcomer), The Marching Band [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuel Courcol
film profile] by Emmanuel Courcol (boasting close to 2.5 million admissions in France and an abundance of audience awards), Jim’s Story [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu
film profile] by Jean-Marie and Arnaud Larrieu, Maria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jessica Palud
film profile] by Jessica Palud, Visiting Hours [+see also:
film review
interview: Patricia Mazuy
film profile] by Patricia Mazuy, This Life of Mine [+see also:
film review
film profile] by the late Sophie Fillières, Meeting With Pol Pot [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Rithy Panh, The Second Act [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Quentin Dupieux, and Thierry de Peretti’s brilliant movie In His Own Image [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thierry de Peretti
film profile].

Likewise in on the action are three additional titles discovered in Venice, namely the festival competitors The Quiet Son [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Delphine and Muriel Coulin
film profile] by Delphine and Muriel Coulin, and And Their Children After Them [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma – respectively rewarded on the Lido via the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, won by Vincent Lindon, and the Best New Talent Prize for Paul Kircher – and Aude-Léa Rapin’s second feature Planet B [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aude Léa Rapin
film profile].

The line-up will be rounded off by François Ozon’s When Fall is Coming [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (awarded the Best Screenplay Award and the Silver Shell for Best Supporting Actor for Pierre Lottin in San Sebastián) and the Berlin competitors Foreign Language [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claire Burger
film profile] by Claire Burger and Suspended Time [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Olivier Assayas, together with Gilles Bourdos’ Le Choix [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Thibaut de Longeville’s documentary series DJ Mehdi: Made in France.

The event will also see an Audience Award and a trophy for Best Emerging Filmmaker up for grabs (courtesy of a jury comprising six Film and French Studies students).

In addition to screenings, a Professional Day taking place on 7 March will see a dozen French international sales agents presenting their line-ups to American distributors and programmers. There’ll also be a panel discussion entitled “Producers Shaping the Future of Film”, involving French representatives Flore Biet (360 Creative -DJ Mehdi: Made in France) and Muriel Meynard (Agat Films & Ex Nihilo – Holy Cow) and, on the American side, Alex C. Lo (co-producer of Maria) and Gabriel Mayers (A Different Man). Equally noteworthy is a meeting entitled "Frames of Change: Judith Godrèche and Me Too".

Last but not least, on the fringes of the event, six masterclasses led by French filmmakers attending the Rendez-Vous are set to unfold in a variety of New York universities (Columbia University, NYU, Hunter College, Fordham University...).

(Translated from French)