Event Preview: Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Biarritz

After two years in a digital format, Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Biarritz (Les Rendez-vous d’Unifrance à Biarritz) is welcoming attendees back in person to the French seaside town for its 28th edition from September 4 to 8.

“We are so proud and thrilled to be back for a physical edition,” says Sarah Hémar, director of the audiovisual department at Unifrance. “Industry professionals have been longing for this event to meet again in person in the beautiful city of Biarritz and to discover the freshest French TV programs.”

Despite the pandemic, French producers and distributors have been highly creative and active, Hémar adds, “and the content to be showcased in Biarritz will reflect this great dynamism.”

At this time, 64 companies will be present at the event, an attendance that is consistent with 2019. “Considering the frequent mergers and acquisitions in the French industry over the past two years, this figure shows how important this market is for French distributors,” says Hémar.

Also, she adds, as Unifrance is now home to the export of audiovisual content and films, “we want to take the promotion of audiovisual programs and artists to a whole new level on the occasion of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Biarritz.”

In line with Unifrance’s new strategy to further promote audiovisual artists, it is co-hosting for the first time a gala screening and dinner around the new show The King’s Favorite, in coordination with France tv distribution. Actors Isabelle Adjani, Hugo Becker and Virginie Ledoyen, as well as director and producer Josée Dayan and associate producer Gaspard de Chavagnac (Passion Films) will be in attendance.

Unifrance and the CNC (the National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image, the national agency responsible for the production and promotion of cinematic and audiovisual arts in France) will unveil the 2021 audiovisual export figures during a press conference that will take place on Monday, September 5, in the Casino Municipal’s theater. It will also be streamed online.

In addition to the gala screening, Unifrance will host special themed events around highlights such as the documentary The Wonders of Europe (STUDIOCANAL), a cocktail party for landmark nature and wildlife documentaries from ARTE Distribution and a dinner and closing party hosted by Film & Picture around Pacific Criminal.

Unifrance is also planning to produce a wide range of video content on-site, including interviews with artists, international buyers and French distributors, to offer on its YouTube and Twitter channels live coverage of the Rendez-Vous.

To make it easier for international buyers to navigate the diversity of French programs—which span animation and kids, documentaries, entertainment, fiction and performing arts—Unifrance will launch its new viewing platform during the Rendez-Vous. “More flexible, modern and adapted to the specific needs of the markets, it will allow a greater editorialization of all the programs showcased in Biarritz through thematization and highlights, helping international buyers to access the content they seek or the most anticipated French TV programs to date,” says Hémar.

With the 2022 event, more than 1,000 programs, including new and exclusive ones, will be available in a dedicated screening room. “Above all, international buyers value the quality and diversity of the programs presented during the Rendez-Vous, as well as the French distributors’ know-how,” says Hémar.

Around 250 buyers are expected to attend. “The market has been changing a lot and quickly in the last couple of years, but we are anticipating the same attendance as in 2019, ahead of the pandemic,” Hémar notes. “The business landscape has been evolving, but despite those changes, the number of interested participants remains stable.

“The Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Biarritz will come back as a real meeting space and a place to analyze the market and its shape and health.”

To further strengthen Unifrance’s business intelligence tools and provide French distributors with market insights, the Rendez-Vous “will be the perfect occasion for our international market analysts to meet with buyers from all over the world and refine their knowledge of the latest market trends,” says Hémar.

The goal, she says, is to reassert the position of the Rendez-Vous as a key event both for French distributors looking for strong partners to export and broadcast their programs and for international buyers on the lookout for fresh, attractive and creative programs.

“The Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Biarritz remains a key event for the industry,” Hémar says. “We offer a tailored market so that anyone and each program can meet their best fit.

“We hope each participant will go back home with a few stars in their eyes and a good business start of the school year.”