UNIFRANCE RENDEZ-VOUS IN PARIS, A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR FRENCH TALENT

Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris, the world's largest market and press junket dedicated to the French audiovisual industry, finally returned in person in 2023 after the pandemic. Last January, the French capital city discussed all issues related to enhancing the visibility and exports of the local audiovisual industry for 2023.

One of the main panels was "UniFrance's 10 to Watch 2023," where French talents talked about their professional experiences, both locally and abroad. The actors Dali Benssalah ("No Time to Die"), Bastien Bouillon ("Up the Mountain"), Paul Kircher ("Winter Boy"), Lyna Khoudri, Annabelle Lengronne ("Mother and Son"), Rebecca Marder ("Not My Type"), Nadia Tereszkiewicz ("Forever Young"), as well as the filmmaker Davy Chou, Céline Devaux ("Everybody Loves Jeanne"), and Charlotte Le Bon, are new faces of French cinema. They have made a name for themselves in major international festivals during 2022 and will be on screens worldwide this year. "Unifrance promotes the international career of these talents because it is a way to stand out French talent worldwide," said Daniela Elstner, Unifrance's Executive Director.

Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris showcased eleven shows during the event, with five fiction titles: "Bright Minds" from FTD; "Bardot" from Federation; "I killed my husband" from HAGO; "Pacific Criminal" from Film & Picture and "Paris Police 1905" from StudioCanal. Four animations were also featured in Paris, with "Behind the Beats" and "Jade Armor" from TeamTO, "50/50 Heroes" from Cyber Group Studios, and "Tara Duncan" from Princess Sam Pictures. Finally, two documentaries were highlighted: "Philae, the last temples of Ancient Egypt" from INA and "Nicole Kidman, Eyes wide open" from Arte.

Focus On Fiction

"Bardot" is a Brigitte Bardot series that dives into the 50s in France and tells "the story of her young life".

LAST JANUARY, PARIS RECEIVED THE FRENCH AUDIOVISUAL INDUSTRY THROUGH A PROGRAM FULL OF CONFERENCES AND ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS WHERE SEVERAL SERIES, DOCUMENTARIES, AND ANIMATED PROJECTS WERE LAUNCHED.

Produced by Pascal Breton, Federation Studios President, and co-created and co-directed by Danièle and Christopher Thompson, the series aims at general audiences and will premiere locally on France Télévisions. "We want to portray the elements of that era, the end of the woman being just a wife or a mother, the end of people going to war in Algeria, and the beginning of the show society," explained Morad Koufane, Head of International Scripted Series at France Télévisions. The title was also sold to Mediaset (Italy), NRK (Norway), DR (Denmark), YLE (Finland), SVT (Sweden), RUV (Island), Turkcell (Turkey), and worldwide to Netflix. "'Bardot' can be attractive to global audiences because she was a phenomenon; she was different and unique at that time. She was someone that really changed the rules", affirmed Breton. "She is still a brand, almost an influencer because her style was fundamental, but beyond that, it's the intimacy of this young girl which is a universal thing," said Christopher Thompson.

"Bright Minds" was also a highlight of Unifrance Rendez-Vous. Produced by JLA Productions, the crime series stars Lola Dewaere and Sara Mortensen and has four seasons of global success. "We chose two women for the leading characters. I wanted a complementary friendship between a neurotypical woman and an autistic woman. It was important to have a duo of women, not one man and one woman, which would have drifted away from friendship," showrunner Alexandre de Seguins explained. "Bright Minds" was already sold to Cosmo TV and Atresmedia in Spain; Discovery Italy; RSI for Italian-speaking Switzerland territories; VRT for Flemish-speaking Belgium territories; Walter Presents for Ireland, the UK, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Australia, and United States; FOX in Portugal; LRT in Lithuania; NBCUniversal Networks & Direct-ToConsumer for 13 Ulica in Poland; DIVA in Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia; AMItélé in Canada; and AXN Channel for Latin America. The showrunner explained the reason behind that global success. "It is a friendship that goes beyond the borders between two women they need each other. We paid much attention to having that balance when writing and shooting the show," de Seguins stated. and TG4 (Irland). "The global expansion of the show illustrates the global appeal of the series, both for private and public broadcasters," commented Mathieu. Moreover, "Behind The Beats" is a YouTube Original and France Televisions series produced by TeamTO. "My idea was to share my passion for all kinds of music," said Baptiste Jacquemet, Director and creator of the series. For the first year, France Televisions has exclusive rights for the show in France, streaming it France.tv digital platform and on its linear channel France 4. YouTube keeps the rights for the rest of the world in English, French, and Spanish. "After the first year, YouTube will air the series in France," commented Patricia De Wilde, TeamTO Director of Marketing and New Business and "Behind The Beats" producer. The show has already reached 12 million views since the release of the first eight episodes. "We are already thinking about a second season," affirmed De Wilde.

Factual Content

Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris also welcomed "Philae, the last temples of Ancient Egypt," a documentary produced by Enora Contant from the Audiovisual National that could not be more different. They're not opposed; they are complementary. The weaknesses of one are the strengths of the other and vice versa. Both have the same importance to the story because

Institute (INA)."There's a very long love story and an extraordinary relationship between France and Egypt," commented Contant. She also highlighted the current interest in Ancient Egypt from viewers. "There is this mystery of how they were able to build these amazing constructions around the year 4000 Before Christ," Contant said.

More Animation

In Paris, Cyber Group Studios presented the comedy series "50/50 Heroes," a show targeted at kids from 6 to 10 years old. "We wanted to talk about superpowers and superheroes funnily," described Raphaelle Mathieu, Executive Vice President of Cyber Group Studios. The first season of "50/50 Heroes" premiered on France Télevisions, ITV in the UK, and K2 in Italy. The show has also been sold to Disney Channel Germany and Eastern Europe; YLE Finland; Cartoon Network Asia; Disney Japan; Discovery Latin America; RTBF (Belgium),

Josselin Mahot handled the visual effects of the documentary and explained that 3D has helped to show how Unesco deconstructed and reconstructed the temple on another island. "We help the director Benoit Poisson to bring a new and modern vision of how this temple was moved, with real facts and information," Mahot commented.

Finally, "Nicole Kidman, Eyes Wide Open" is a documentary produced by Little Big Story and Arte France, which reviews Nicole Kidman's career through archive material, previous interviews, and people who have worked with her, such as directors Gus Van Sant, John Cameron Mitchell and French film critic Michel Ciment, a close friend of Jane Campion and Stanley Kubrick. "She's more than an actress; she created a powerful creative world with all the roles she had in her career," commented Valérie Montmartin, documentary Producer. ARTE Distribution is the series' global distributor and has already sold it to Spain, Switzerland, Africa, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Australia, and Scandinavia. "We all expect great success with this documentary," Montmartin stated.

By Romina Rodríguez