Ozon crime caper to open Rendez-Vous

Nadia Tereszkieicz takes the stand accused of murder in François Ozon’s The Crime is Mine, (Mon Crime), alongside Rebecca Marder as her lawyer. The film is slated for the Berlin Film Festival and to open the Unifrance Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris Photo: © FOZ – Mandarin Production

Traditionally this is the time of year when lovers of French cinema from Europe and further afield gather in Paris to consider (and hopefully snap up) the offerings in prospect for the year ahead.

This will mark the 25th year of the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, which was started by the late Daniel Toscan du Plantier, the flamboyantly dynamic head of Unifrance (the export body for le cinéma français). Toscan du Plantier who passed away unexpectedly in 2003, and was president of Unifrance from 1988 until his death, will be given a special 20th anniversary tribute at the Ministry of Culture. He was mindful in his initiative that the chosen dates also coincided after Christmas with the January sales in the Parisian shops affording guests a double opportunity to seek out bargains.

Isabelle Huppert on the interview circuit at the Rendez-Vous for Jean-Paul Salomé’s The Sitting Duck (La Syndicaliste) based on the true story of a whistle blower and to be released in the UK by Modern Films. Photo: Modern Films

The dedicated showcase, based at the super de luxe Hotel Le Collectioneur and screening rooms around the Champs Elysées, will open on Wednesday (11 Jan) with François Ozon’s period caper The Crime is Mine (Mon Crime) with Isabelle Huppert, Dany Boon, Fabrice Luchini, Rebecca Marder and Nadia Tereszkiewicz.

Set in 1930s Paris, Ozon’s 22nd feature and following on from Peter Von Kant last year, tells of a penniless, untalented actress who is accused of murdering a famous producer. She enlists the help of her best friend, a young unemployed lawyer, and she is acquitted on a plea of self-defence. Her fortunes are turned around - and fame and success beckon. The Crime is Mine will be officially premiered at next month’s Berlin Film Festival and is said to be in the same period genre as the director’s lavishly produced 8 Women and Potiche, both box office hits.

Besides screenings of a plethora of new French films, there will also be panel discussions between distributors, sales agents, producers, and sales agents about the challenges facing the export of le cinéma français especially in the wake of the downturn in audiences as cinemas recover from the effects of the pandemic and the economic crisis.

French box office achieved a total of 152 million admissions last year, a decrease of some 26.9 per cent on 2019, the last “normal” period when a record 213 million attendances were scored. American blockbusters such as Disney’s Avatar: The Way Of Water and Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick helped to boost box office last year with the top French title being the comedy Serial (Bad) Weddings 3, which sold more than two million tickets. French films overall garnered 62.2 million attendances and a market share of 40.9 per cent.

Gallic hopes are resting on the release this year of such big budget contenders as Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom as well as a two-part salvo of The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan (due for release on 5 April) and The Three Musketeers: Milady (set for 13 December).

Once the international buyers depart the weekend sees a phalanx of journalists arrive to undertake interviews with talent for films due for release in their territories over the coming months. Among those lining up to face the press and the TV cameras are Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Paul Salomé for his riveting The Sitting Duck (La Syndicaliste) revealing the true story of Maureen Kearney, a whistleblower, in the French nuclear sector; Mia Hansen-Love for Un beau matin; Alice Winocour for Paris Memories, and Kayije Kagame and Guslagie Malanda for Saint Omer, France’s Oscar contender for best foreign film.

Other notable events around the Rendez-Vous will be the presentation of the French Cinema Award to Belgian actress Virginie Efira whose recent burgeoning roles include Paris Memories; Other People’s Children (by Rebecca Zlotowski), Waiting For Bojangles (by Régis Roinsard), and the upcoming Just The Two of Us (by Valérie Donzelli).

Besides cinema the event also has expanded into the realms of TV series with a dedicated programme aimed at buyers from TV channels and platforms, marking the fusion of Unifrance with the French TV export organisation TV France international.

Coinciding with the Rendez-Vous is the return of MyFrenchFilmFestival, which runs from 13 January to 13 February and iffers online screenings of 29 features and shorts, subtitled in 12 languages. The 13th edition of the world-wide event (free in certain territories) is available on MyFrenchFilmFestival.com and 70 partner platforms.

The Unifrance Rendez-Vous runs from 11 to 17 January.