Unifrance will be present at the Cannes International Film Festival from May 13 to 24 to help promote the works and artists of French cinema.
The organization will be taking up residence in its two usual spaces:
• The Unifrance Terrace, a stone's throw from the Croisette, will welcome the crews of French films presented at the festival (all selections included), the international press, and numerous events.
• The Unifrance stand, located in the Marché du Film (Riviera L0), will host several French international sales companies and will be available to its members. It will also host meetings between Unifrance teams and their contacts throughout the festival.
THE VENUES
The Unifrance Terrace in Cannes, a special space at the service of French cinema on the international scene
The Unifrance Terrace will be set up for the eighth consecutive year at 5 rue des Belges, a stone's throw from the Palais des Festivals, in a space spread over three levels designed to welcome the crews of French productions selected in Cannes for their interviews with the international press.
The venue will also host numerous private events (by invitation only): cocktail receptions (in honor of foreign distributors and French exporters, for animation films, documentaries, etc.), the presentation of the Unifrance Short Film Awards, working breakfasts (in the presence of audiovisual attaché networks, OFAJ), lunches and dinners (in honor of Critics' Week in partnership with Fondation Roederer, of the Unifrance 10 to Watch, and of the winners of the Unifrance Short Film Awards.)
The Unifrance Terrace will also serve as a setting for video interviews conducted by Unifrance with the artists, in order to accompany promotion during Cannes and, later, the international release of the films. These videos will also feed into Unifrance's new editorial policy aimed at local audiences abroad. A photo studio (entrusted to photographer Laura Stevens) will allow portraits to be produced that can be made available to the international press and to foreign festivals in which Unifrance is a partner.
A photo exhibition composed of portraits of filmmakers and actors taken by Marie Rouge during the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris and the Cannes Film Festival, will also be presented on the Unifrance Terrace.
The Unifrance stand at the Marché du Film
Unifrance will also be present alongside professionals through its 95-square-meter stand located in the Marché du Film (Riviera-L0), which can host meetings for Unifrance member producers and exporters, and will provide an umbrella for two export companies: MPM Premium and Salaud Morisset.
This space will also be the venue where Unifrance teams will meet with their members and film industry colleagues: directors and selectors of foreign festivals, international distributors, representatives of VOD platforms, exporters, market managers, audiovisual attachés, cultural advisors, partners, and export professionals.
Two happy hours (by invitation only), conceived to encourage – in a convivial way – exchanges between French professionals and their foreign counterparts, are also planned, with a focus on international festivals and producers.
HIGHLIGHTS
Launching the Marché on the Unifrance Terrace with foreign distributors and French exporters
Unifrance's traditional cocktail reception, which honors foreign distributors and French exporters, will be held on Wednesday, May 14 on the Unifrance Terrace (by invitation only). This gathering, which marks the beginning of the Marché du Film, will be followed by numerous professional events that will be held either on the Unifrance Terrace or at the Unifrance stand, such as the working breakfast that will bring together French audiovisual attachés and Unifrance teams (May 17).
French documentaries on the Unifrance Terrace
On Thursday, May 15, Unifrance will join Cannes Docs & EURODOC to host, on the Unifrance Terrace, Cannes Docs' opening cocktail reception (by invitation only).
Meetings focusing on exports
Unifrance will participate at the lunch devoted to French cinema in the world organized by the CNC on its beach on Thursday, May 15, that will bring together some 100 French and foreign guests: institutions, distributors, festival directors, exporters, etc.
French animation on the Unifrance Terrace
On Sunday, May 18, Unifrance will join the Marché du Film / Animation Day, Annecy Animation Film Festival, German Films / Animation Germany, Czech Audiovisual Fund, and the National Film Centre of Latvia to host, on the Unifrance Terrace, a cocktail reception celebrating French animation (by invitation only).
French short films on the Unifrance Terrace
- On Tuesday, May 20, the 23rd Unifrance Short Film Awards, as well as the 7th Unifrance Distributor x Fête du court-métrage Awards, will be announced in the presence of the recipients and the members of the 2025 Jury. The ceremony will be followed by a cocktail reception and diner bringing together the winners (by invitation only).
- On Thursday, May 22, Unifrance is organizing a short film breakfast, bringing together the directors of French short films selected in all Cannes' strands (by invitation only).
- A guided tour of the selected immersive works will be organized for Unifrance members in partnership with the festival.
THE 10 TO WATCH AT CANNES
Initiated by Unifrance in 2014, the 10 to Watch program aims to contribute to the emergence of new French movie talents in the international arena, by raising their profile outside France (through contact with journalists, festival programmers, broadcasters, and foreign audiences) and, in this way, to participate in the constant renewal of French cinema icons.
The artists who make up the 10 to Watch are selected by a committee of film journalists (Variety, Screen International, Cineuropa, The Hollywood Reporter, France Inter). The list of the 10 to Watch 2025 was revealed by Unifrance in January, during the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris.
On Wednesday, May 21 these emerging talents will be put in the spotlight at Cannes through a press lunch with French and international journalists, followed by a red-carpet photo session arranged with the Cannes Film Festival, and a dinner on the Unifrance Terrace. The following participants are already confirmed at this stage: Adam Bessa, Ludovic Boukherma and Zoran Boukherma, Julien Colonna, Louise Courvoisier, Sayyid El Alami, India Hair, Lou Lampros, Jonathan Millet, Megan Northam, and Agathe Riedinger.
Unifrance will also produce video content (interviews, encounters, etc.) to promote, via social networks, this new generation of artists to foreign audiences.
For any press enquiries about Unifrance's 10 to Watch program, please contact betty.bousquet@unifrance.org
10 to Watch at Cannes benefits from the collaborative participation of the Cannes Film Festival, and the invaluable support of Screen International, L'Oréal Paris, and Davines.
UNIFRANCE ONLINE
Unifrance will be present during the festival on its usual social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Threads, Bluesky, and YouTube) and will deliver several series of daily posts: interviews with French filmmakers and artists, video clips dedicated to the 10 to Watch in Cannes program..
This coverage will be amplified by the presence at Cannes, alongside Unifrance, of content creators Cécilia Jourdan & Criselis Pérez (@hellofrench), and Víctor Salmerón (@cinemaexcelsiorr).
Institutional communication will be reserved for LinkedIn.
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Unifrance's presence in Cannes benefits from the invaluable support of: Estandon Coopérative en Provence, Super Bock, Nespresso, Acqua Panna & San Pellegrino, Dammann Frères, Davines and L'Oréal Paris.
Unifrance also thanks its institutional partners and patrons: République française, CNC, Institut français, PROCIREP, and TitraFilm.
It also receives support from the Unifrance Endowment Fund: Accor (Grand Patron), BNP Paribas (Patron), and Vranken-Pommery Monopole (Patron).
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