Unifrance 10 Talents to Watch: Raphaël Quenard, Suzy Bemba, Souheila Yacoub Among Voices Shaping French Cinema

Ant McPartlin and his wife Anne-Marie were snapped leaving the London Palladium following a day of Britain's Got Talent auditions. Ant was joined by his wife and step-daughter, as filming for the new series continued, with photos showing the trio leaving the Palladium in the evening For the occasion, Anne-Marie donned a black top and varsity jacket, which she paired with some black jeans and boots. She also held a brown Loewe scarf, which she carried as she headed to the car.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent French mini-major Pathé has acquired Les Films des Tournelles, the production company founded by Anne-Dominique Toussaint whose recent credits include Louis Garrel‘s Cesar-winning “The Innocent.” Besides Garrel, Les Films des Tournelles has worked with a flurry of auteurs on some of their most successful films, including Riad Sattouf’s “The French Kissers,” which won the Cesar for best first film in 2010; Nadine Labaki’s “Caramel”; Emanuele Crialese’s “Respiro”; Valeria Golino’s “Miele”; and Mona Achache’s “The Hedgehog.” “The Innocent” won two prizes at last year’s Cesar Awards and screened at Cannes on the 75th anniversary of the festival. Toussaint has also worked with Philippe Le Guay and Emmanuel Carrère.

The 2024 Britain’s Got Talent auditions kicked off in London on 23 January, but chaos quickly ensued when police were called to remove an "intruder". Judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli returned to the London Palladium on Wednesday for the first round of auditions, along with hosts Ant and Dec.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent After keeping a fairly low profile as president of France’s leading commercial network TF1 Group for seven years, Gilles Pelisson, the discreet Harvard-educated executive, is ready for showtime. He has been propelled into the spotlight to promote French film and TV in his new role as president of Unifrance, succeeding Serge Toubiana last summer.

Ben Croll Two years ago, Souheila Yacoub took a call from an unknown number – and on the other end of line was Denis Villeneuve. “I was so blacked out thinking how unreal it all was that I didn’t really understand everything that happened,” the actor tells Variety.

Justine Triet’s Anatomy Of A Fall continued its prize-winning run on Monday at France’s 29th Lumière Awards clinching Best Film and Best Screenplay, while its German star Sandra Hüller won Best Actress.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent French prosecutors have dismissed the complaint filed by French actor Hélène Darras alleging that Gerard Depardieu sexually assaulted her during the filming of “Disco” in 2007. In a statement sent to Variety, the prosecutors’ office said the complaint filed on Sept.

You may remember the big hit 1999 thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley… well, there’s now an 8 episode series titled Ripley following the same story line, starring Andrew Scott in the title role of Tom Ripley!

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Dahomey,” a documentary directed by Cannes prizewinner Mati Diop (“Atlantique”) and slated for the Berlinale competition, will be represented internationally by Paris-based Les Films du Losange. The feature marks the directorial comeback of the French-Senegalese talent after winning the Grand Prize at Cannes with “Atlantique” in 2019.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Already one of France’s most beloved and bankable actors (“The Stronghold”), Gilles Lellouche is about to graduate as a big-shot filmmaker five years after delivering his sophomore outing, “Sink or Swim,” a B.O. hit which lured more than four million moviegoers (over $35 million) in theaters.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Agnes Jaoui, a beloved French actor, screenwriter and filmmaker, will receive an honorary Cesar Award during its 49th edition, which will be held at Olympia Concert Hall on Feb. 23. Jaoui formed a duo with the late Jean-Pierre Bacri for over three decades, collaborating on a number of films that were both critical and commercial hits.

Good afternoon Insiders, Jesse Whittock back with you. So much news to get through this week — here’s a pick of the biggest and best stories. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Former TF1 Group CEO and chairman Gilles Pélisson has gone through a baptism of fire this week in his new role of president at French film and TV promotional body Unifrance as he attends his first edition of its annual Paris Rendez-vous.

EXCLUSIVE: German Films, the agency that promotes German cinema globally, has unveiled the seven participants for the ninth edition of its annual Face to Face campaign, which include talents who have worked on projects ranging from television series such as Deutschland ‘89 and Kafka to feature film Turning Tables. 

Ben Croll Capping a growth year that saw Gallic productions draw 37. 4 million global theatrical admissions for a total of $254 million in international receipts, producers and sales agents indicated that geopolitical tensions and eco-responsible transformation would be two of the major stressors on France’s film export business in the months to come.

Cinema export agency Unifrance’s annual international box office report for 2023 revealed on Tuesday that Russia was the top market in terms of admissions for French cinema last year.

French cinema saw its fortunes rise at the international box office in 2023 after three difficult Covid-19 and post pandemic years, according to the annual report of export agency Unifrance released on Tuesday.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Ginger & Fed, the new international film sales arm of Federation Entertainment headed by former TF1 Studio boss Sabine Chemaly, will launch several high profile titles at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous, including “The Future Awaits,” Niels Tavernier’s WWII-set drama based on the true story of a Holocaust survivor. Ginger & Fed will also bow sales on “Riviera Revenge,” a heartwarming comedy starring André Dussollier (“The Crime is Mine”), Sabine Azéma (“Tanguy”) and Thierry Lhermitte (“The Dinner Game”), along with continuing deals on “Rachel’s Game,” “Survive” and “Oldies and Goodies.” Produced by Yves Darondeau at Bonne Pioche Cinema (“March of the Penguins”), “The Future Awaits” tells the story of Tauba Birenbaum, whose testimony was collected in July 1997 to become part of Steven Spielberg’s Institute for Visual History.

Suzie Wells may be best known for being mum to former TOWIE stars Sam Faiers and Billie Shepherd, and a devoted nanny to her six grandchildren – but at age 54, she also looks sensational. Chatting exclusively with OK!, the mum of two shared some of her secrets to a healthy body, admitting that her battle with finding something to help with menopause led to her not 'recognising herself'. Sharing how she keeps trim, Suzie told us: "I think I’m just an active person in general.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent With great power comes great responsibility. Canal+ Group has received the conditional approval from the anti-trust board to acquire Orange Studio and OCS, the film and pay TV operations of Orange, France’s leading telco group. Canal+ has committed to a number of remedies for an initial duration of five years in order to get the regulatory green light and address concentration concerns.