All eyes on the Rendez-Vous With French Cinema in New York

18 features are in the programme of the 26th edition of the event organised by UniFrance and Film at Lincoln Center, unfolding online this year from 4 to 14 March

The poignant documentary Little Girl by Sébastien Lifshitz (which played in the Panorama section of the 2020 Berlinale, was broadcast on Arte France last December and will be launched on Netflix on 15 March) will open the 26th edition of the Rendez-Vous With French Cinema in New-York, exceptionally organised online from 4 to 14 March 2021 by UniFrance and Film at Lincoln Center.

Standing out among the 18 feature films in the menu is Margaux Hartmann  by Ludovic Bergery, whose lead actress Emmanuelle Béart, guest of these Rendez-Vous, will be in a free online conversation with Richard Peña (Columbia University) to discuss her career and French cinema.

Also shining bright in the selection are ten titles which received the 2020 Official Selection Cannes label, including Emmanuel Mouret’s Love Affair(s) recently crowned Best French Film at the 2020 Lumières awards), Caroline Vignal’s joyful film My Donkey, My Lover & I [+] and Summer of 85 [+] by François Ozon (showcased in many festivals, including the main competition at San Sebastián).

Among these films carrying the Cannes label are five feature debuts: the subtle Gagarin [+] by Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh, the offbeat Spring Blossom [+] by Suzanne Lindon, the hard-hitting Slalom [+] by Charlène Favier, the geopolitical thriller Should the Wind Drop [+] by Nora Martirosyan (also recipient of the ACID label) and the moving Ibrahim [+] by Samir Guesmi. Also selected are the dramatic comedy The Big Hit by Emmanuel Courcol and the eco-thriller Red Soil [+] by Farid Bentoumi.

Arriving from the 2020 Venice Film Festival are the very accomplished film Lovers [+] by Nicole Garcia and the hilarious Mandibles [+] by Quentin Dupieux, while the refreshing À l’abordage [+] by Guillaume Brac was discovered and well-received last year at the Berlinale’s Panorama.

Completing the selection are What If Tomorrow from the always fascinating Fabienne Godet, 5ème set by Quentin Reynaud (starring Alex Lutz as amply believable professional tennis player in crisis trying his last chance at the Roland-Garros qualifying round) and Faithful by Hélier Cisterne (set in the colonised Algeria of 1956 and focusing on anti-colonial activism, starring Vincent Lacoste and Vicky Krieps).

The 18 films (all vying for an audience award) will be followed by virtual Q&As with the filmmakers, and this edition of the Rendez-Vous With French Cinema in New-York is also offering online conferences such as “How Music Makes the Film” and “Vive la Résistance” (about the representation of social justice and activism in recent French and American cinema).

Source: All eyes on the Rendez-Vous With French Cinema in New York – Cineuropa