"Rendez-vous with French Cinema", of which this is the 28th edition, opens Thursday evening at the Lincoln Center in New York with "Revoir Paris", in the presence of its director Alice Winocour and the Franco-Belgian actress Virginie Efira, crowned last week with a César for best actress for her role in this film evoking the psychological after-effects of the 2015 attacks in the French capital.

"Their presence highlights what French cinema represents for American audiences today: an alternative voice and vision for human relations, global issues and collective consciousness that is reflected in this year's selection", s Congratulations to Daniela Elstner, executive director of Unifrance, the body responsible for promoting French cinema abroad, and one of the organizers of the event.

Also on display, "The Night of the 12th" will be presented by Dominik Moll, also recently awarded the Césars as best director for this story of an impossible investigation into a feminicide.

"La nuit du 12" won six Césars in all, including Best Film.

Twenty-one films will be presented until March 12, several of which raise questions of identity or discrimination, such as "Gravity" by Franco-Burkinabe director and actor Cédric Ido, "The Five Devils" by Léa Mysius, "A Little Brother" by Léonor Serraille.

Or "Neneh Superstar" by Ramzi Ben Sliman, about a young dancer from the Paris Opera played by Oumy Bruni Garrel, the daughter of Louis Garrel and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi.

Louis Garrel will be present to present his film "L'innocent", but also that of his father Philippe, "Le Grand Chariot", which has just received the Silver Bear for best director at the Berlinale.

One of the challenges is to maintain the attractiveness of French cinema in the United States, where the box office is overwhelmingly dominated by national productions.

According to Unifrance, two French films, the Palme d'or at the Cannes Film Festival 2021 "Titane" (Julie Ducournau), and the film intended for a family audience "The Wolf and the Lion", by Gilles de Maistre, have exceeded one million. dollar in box office receipts in 2021-2022.

For the year 2022, the best French entry was "Petite Maman" by Céline Sciamma, with nearly $900,000 in revenue.

© 2023 AFP