13/01/2022 - UniFrance's 12th online festival will unspool from 14 January to 14 February, broadcast worldwide across 70 streaming platforms and hosting an especially enticing competition of ten feature films

For Daniela Elstner, the CEO of UniFrance which is organising the event, the aim is simple: "to depict the diverse nature of French film in countries where viewers don’t always have the chance to discover such films in cinemas". After a record 13 million viewings in 2021, the world’s first French-language film festival to unfold entirely online - MyFrenchFilmFestival - is getting ready to open the digital doors of its 12th edition (running 14 January – 14 February). Internet fans can find the films selected for the event on MyFrenchFilmFestival.com, as well as on another 70+ streaming platforms, including the Apple TV app (in over 90 territories), Amazon Prime Video, Google Play and MUBI.

The ten feature films selected in competition include movies bearing stamps of approval from Cannes 2020 (Skies of Lebanon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Chloé Mazlo, Teddy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma, A Night Doctor [+see also:
trailer
interview: Elie Wajeman
film profile] by Elie Wajeman and the documentary The Monopoly of Violence [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: David Dufresne
film profile] by David Dufresne), Berlin (À l’abordage [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guillaume Brac
film profile] by Guillaume Brac) and Venice (Honey Cigar [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kamir Aïnouz
film profile] by Kamir Aïnouz). Jostling alongside them is the animated title Calamity, A Childhood of Martha Jane Canary [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Henri Magalon
film profile] by Rémi Chayé (which triumphed in Annecy in 2020), Philippe Béziat’s documentary Gallant Indies [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Nine Antico’s Playlist [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nine Antico
film profile] and Belgian debut feature Madly in Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Raphaël Balboni & Ann Sirot
film profile] by Raphaël Balboni and Ann Sirot.

The filmmaker jury (singling out the winner of an award worth 15,000 Euros) includes Belgian director Joachim Lafosse, his Argentine and Italian counterparts Santiago Mitre and Filippo Meneghetti, Belgian-Greek actress Daphné Patakia and Mexican sound engineer and mixer Michelle Coutollenc. Two further prizes are set to be decided upon by the audience and by the international press jury.

Worth a mention out of competition is Swiss feature film Beyond the Horizon [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Delphine Lehericey
film profile] by Delphine Lehericey (discovered in San Sebastián), Canadian movie Nadia, Butterfly by Pascal Plante and, in heritage terms, L’Amant by Jean-Jacques Annaud, all without forgetting the 17 short films gracing the agenda (ten in competition, three out of competition and four animated works in the Kids Corner line-up).

These short films will be free to view all over the world, while feature films will cost €1.99 each (or €7.99 as part of a package). The festival will be entirely free to view in Africa, Latin America, South-East Asia, South Korea, Poland, Romania and Russia/CIS. All films will be subtitled in French, English, Spanish, Italian, German, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Korean and Japanese for all territories, while Arabic, Mandarin, Greek, Hungarian and Turkish subtitles will also be available this year (in the given countries and via the partner platforms concerned).

(Translated from French)