At the close of the 30th Rendez-Vous With French Cinema in New York, whose attendance figures have increased year on year, Unifrance and Film at Lincoln Center are pleased to announce that the 6th Rendez-Vous Audience Award was given by the public to The Marching Band by Emmanuel Courcol, that the fourth Best Emerging Filmmaker Award, presented by a jury of six New York students, went to Winter in Sokcho by Koya Kamura, and that the 30th Anniversary Award went to Ghost Trail by Jonathan Millet.
The Marching Band, Emmanuel Courcol's new film, received the sixth Audience Award (after Les Éblouis in 2020, Petite fille in 2021, En corps in 2022, Pour la France in 2023, and The Animal Kingdom in 2024).
We should note: the Audience Award is voted for by festival-goers, who are invited to rate the films after the screenings. At the end of the festival, thanks to the support of Air France, one of these spectators was randomly selected to win a round-trip ticket for two to Paris..
This year's event also saw the presentation of the 4th Best Emerging Filmmaker Award to Koya Kamura's Winter in Sokcho, a prize designed to draw attention to the unique cinematic point of view of emerging French filmmakers (only first and second films are considered), and their interpretation of France's new and diverse identities.
Winter in Sokcho had its world premiere at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival). The student jury praised the film's exploration of French identity, the special spiritual connection between strangers, its warmth and creative use of animated interludes, calling it an “impressive debut.”
In honor of the festival's 30th edition, an exceptional 30th Anniversary Award was created, and given to Jonathan Millet's Ghost Trail, in which a former prisoner of the Syrian regime is determined to confront his torturer, who he has encountered again in an entirely different context. This award was also commended by the student jury, who praised the film's “precious, rare tension,” its humanity in the treatment of a Syrian refugee’s story, and its “bold” and “experimental” stylistic elements.
Last but not least, ticket sales for the 30th edition were up on last year, continuing a trend with previous editions, which have witnessed increasing sales. Over 8,500 tickets were issued, including 467 for school screenings. 150 people attended the free conferences. Of the 23 features in this year's program, more than half were directed by women, four were debut features, and eight filmmakers had already presented films at previous editions of the Rendez-Vous.
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