Are you an aspiring or emerging cinephile in love with French cinema? During the 23rd edition of Rendez-Vous with French Cinema on March 8-18, UniFrance and the Film Society of Lincoln Center invite any attendee under 40 years of age to write a review in our “Salut les Jeunes Critiques” contest, sponsored by Frenchly, a web magazine for Francophiles in the U.S., and a part of the French Morning Media Group.

The best review, as decided by a FSLC and UniFrance panel, will win a trip to Paris, offered by UniFrance, and a free TV5MONDE subscription for one year. Plus the review will be published on Frenchly, Film Society of Lincoln Center, and UniFrance.

Any movie playing during the festival is eligible to review. Check out the complete line-up and schedule. To help you narrow your choices, the festival will be hosting a “Salut les jeunes” Day on Monday, March 12th, featuring four selections from the lineup that feature younger protagonists. Those between the ages of 21 and 40 can get a $40 pass, which includes tickets to all four screenings on March 12, three free months of membership in New Wave, and a bottle of champagne (courtesy of UniFrance).

Salut les Jeunes Critiques guidelines

  • Age: Must be under 40
  • Format : Submit a review, in English, of 800 words or less about a Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2018 selection
  • Deadline: Friday, March 16th at 12pm
  • Contact: Please send your review to salutlesjeunescritiques@gmail.com
  • Awards:
  • The winning review will be selected by a UniFrance & Film Society of Lincoln Center panel
  • The awarded review will be announced after the festival
  •  Prize:
    • One round-trip flight New York-Paris offered by UniFrance
    • One yearly TV5MONDE subscription
    • Publication of the article on Frenchly, the UniFrance website, and the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s FilmLinc Daily

Ticket Information

Tickets go on sale Friday, February 16, with early access for Film Society members now underway. Tickets are $17; $12 for members, students, and seniors; Opening Night tickets are $25; $20 for members, seniors, and students. New this year: a special $50 Student All-Access Pass + a special $40 All-Day film pass for March 12 for attendees 21-40 years of age.

Salut les Jeunes Day – March 12
All films are screened digitally at the Walter Reade Theater (165 W. 65th St.)

1:15pm : Montparnasse Bienvenüe / Jeune femme by Léonor Serraille
3:30pm : A Paris Education / Mes provinciales by Jean-Paul Civeyrac
6:30pm : The Workshop / L’atelier by Laurent Cantet, with filmmaker in person for Q&A
9:30pm : July Tales / Contes de juillet by Guillaume Brac

Salut les jeunes All-Day Film Pass 

Salut les jeunes All-Day Film Pass available! Are you between the ages of 21-40? Get a $40 pass which includes tickets to all four screenings on March 12, three free months of membership in New Wave, and a bottle of champagne (courtesy of Unifrance). Offer valid to attendees 21–40 years. Proof of age must be presented to the box office. All 4 screenings must be attended in order to receive the champagne, which will be distributed after the final screening of the day. Quantities are limited. Available to pick up on March 12 at the Walter Reade box office.

Montparnasse Bienvenüe / Jeune femme — 1:15pm
Léonor Serraille, France, 2017, 97m – French with English subtitles – New York Premiere
When the toxic 10-year relationship that has defined her adult life implodes, 31-year-old Paula (rising star Laetitia Dosch, nominated for a Best Newcomer César Award) finds herself adrift on Paris’ Left Bank. With no money, no job, and no idea what’s next, the turbulent Paula resorts to a series of desperate lies in order to keep a roof over her head. But this young woman is more resilient than even she initially realizes. Made by an almost entirely female crew, Léonor Serraille’s debut feature—winner of the Camera d’Or at Cannes for best first film—is a refreshingly complex portrait of an all-too-human heroine veering between instability and strength as she makes a place for herself in the world.

A Paris Education / Mes provinciales — 3:30pm
Jean-Paul Civeyrac, France, 2018, 137m – French with English subtitles – North American Premiere
Etienne (Andranic Manet), a serious and impressionable shaggy-haired young cinephile, leaves behind his steady girlfriend (Diane Rouxel) in Lyon to study film in Paris. Settling into a dingy flat with a rotating cast of roommates, he immerses himself in a bohemian world of artists, intellectuals, and fellow film geeks who excitedly share their passion for Bresson, Ford, and obscure Russian directors. It’s a seemingly idyllic life of the mind—until more complicated matters of the flesh, as well as jealous creativity, intrude. Shooting in timeless black and white and interweaving references to philosophy, music, and cinema—from Pascal to Mahler to Parajanov—unsung auteur Jean-Paul Civeyrac conjures a bittersweet ode to the heady days of student life.

The Workshop / L’atelier with filmmaker in person! — 6:30pm
Laurent Cantet, France, 2017, 113m – French with English subtitles – New York Premiere
The Class director Laurent Cantet returns with another unique, provocative exploration of French society as seen through the eyes of the next generation. In the sunny coastal town of La Ciotat, a diverse group of teenagers assembles for a summer writer’s workshop led by Parisian novelist Olivia (César Best Actress nominee Marina Foïs). As the group talks through the novel they are co-writing—a murder mystery set in their town—the ethnic and political fault lines between them are gradually exposed, provoked by the brooding Antoine (Matthieu Lucci), whose fascination with far-right extremism grows increasingly worrying. What plays out is a tense, gripping, up-to-the-minute dispatch on the state of contemporary France. A Strand Releasing release.

July Tales / Contes de juillet — 9:30pm
Guillaume Brac, France, 2017, 68m – French with English subtitles – North American Premiere
Two languorous summer days, two thorny tales of romantic misunderstanding: in part one, two girlfriends (Milena Csergo and Lucie Grunstein) head to the Cergy leisure park for a day of swimming and equally vigorous flirtation; in the second, a Norwegian exchange student (Hanne Mathisen Haga) finds herself the target of unwanted attention from two would-be suitors. Channeling the spirits of Éric Rohmer and Jacques Rozier in its sunny summer setting and concern with the erotic entanglements of the young and idle, this deceptively breezy diptych is, on the surface, a charming diversion. Look a bit closer and you’ll find an incisive study of the ever-complicated relationships between men and women.