Unifrance’s 10 to Watch Initiative Spotlights Rising French Talent

Unifrance’s 10 to Watch initiative, launched in 2014, recognizes rising French film talent — and the org works to boost their visibility beyond France. The 10 artists selected were chosen by a committee of international journalists. The class of 2026 will be spotlighted at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20 at a lunch with the press and a closing dinner on the Unifrance Terrace.

Ugo Bienvenue 

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An acclaimed animator and cartoonist, Bienvenue conceived his feature debut as a way to imagine a more hopeful tomorrow. Those ideas took shape in “Arco,” a sci-fi fable about a boy from the distant future who rides rainbows through time. The film premiered at Cannes, won Annecy’s top prize, and later triumphed at the Césars and the European Film Awards, while earning an Oscar nomination. Bienvenue is now developing his follow-up with the same expansive vision. “French animation often leaves little room for adventure or spectacle,” he says. “Budgets are smaller than in Hollywood, so people limit themselves. That’s exactly why we must push boundaries.”

Valentine Cadic

As locals fled Paris before the 2024 Olympics began, actor and filmmaker Cadic assembled a small crew and plunged into the city’s frenzy to shoot “That Summer in Paris.” Drawing on her documentary background, she coaxed fiction out of fact, using crowds and active locations as dynamic backdrops for an intimate family drama. The project would later win France’s Louis-Delluc Prize. Cadic will retain that same catch-of-life approach for her next scripted feature, “Lio,” as well as an upcoming documentary exploring Paris’ Bercy arena. She’ll also return to acting in a romantic comedy directed by Anne Le Ny and set in the Père-Lachaise cemetery. “I like to mix make-believe with real life,” Cadic says. “In documentaries, you constantly adapt to the unexpected, so I’m wary of meticulous planning, because the best moments come from surprises.”

Anna Cazenave Cambet  

Trained as a photographer, writer-director Cazenave Cambet brings a tactile sensibility to her work. “It’s easier for me to understand the world and emotions through the body,” she says. “I’m drawn to touch, breath and intimacy to express what can’t be put into words.” But she never loses sight of levity. “I try to keep a childlike relationship to the set, to remember we’re here to play. Having fun is almost a political stance.” After “Gold for Dogs” and “Love Me Tender,” she is now developing her third feature while broadening her scope. “I’m increasingly interested in writing for others,” she explains. “I take real pleasure in making myself available to other filmmakers, helping bring their ideas to life.”

Salif Cissé

Cissé, who trained at France’s national drama conservatory, got his film breakthrough in Guillaume Brac’s “All Hands on Deck.” “In theater, you play big, defined characters,” he says. “Here I was asked to be myself, to almost do nothing but feel. It was beautiful.” Cissé has since worked with Arnaud Desplechin and appeared in “Meteors” and “Love Me Tender.” He represented France at the 2026 European Shooting Stars and will next star in “Paolo” and “Frangin frangine.” “I used to think cinema was about transforming into someone else,” he says. “Now I start from myself. I take my habits, blind spots and instincts and let the character grow from there.”

Alice Douard

“Love Letters” director Douard drew deeply on her own experience of lesbian maternity for her feature debut. “I started from the very specific feeling that I was going to be the mother of a child I wasn’t carrying,” she explains. “But I didn’t have any references. In the few films about it, I didn’t recognize myself. I couldn’t understand why love wasn’t at the center.” A graduate of La Fémis and a César winner for best short, Douard sees cinema as a social force. “Proposing images that don’t yet exist is a way of being present in the world,” she says. “It may not change everything, but it bears witness and gives hope.” She is now developing two features, both about parenting. “The films begin from an intimate sensation and then move outward.”

Guillaume Marbeck 

At first, Marbeck wanted to be a director, but he soon shifted focus. “I first needed to train as an actor so I could learn how to speak to them,” he says. That training paid off when he landed the lead role of Jean-Luc Godard in Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague.” The part took him to Cannes, where Quentin Tarantino and Claude Lelouch praised his performance. He has since worked with Alice Winocour on “Couture,” but hasn’t lost sight of his initial goal. “I’ve always wanted to make films,” he says. “I’ve now worked in front of the camera, so directing someday is still the next step.”

Thomas Ngijol  

Known for stand-up and broad comedies, Ngijol revealed new sides of himself by writing, directing and starring in 2025’s Cameroon-set cop thriller “Untamable,” which screened in Directors’ Fortnight last year. “I just followed my intuition,” he says. “All of these emotions were inside me for years. Maybe I wasn’t ready, then one day it just opened up.” Ngijol remains a comedic draw, but behind the camera he will keep exploring different registers with films set in Central Africa. “I express comedy through words,” he says, “but with the camera I’m drawn to other emotions, other stories. Art is about doing what you want — you’re not a prisoner of anything”

Park Ji-min

Acclaimed visual artist Park was celebrated for her screen debut in “Return to Seoul,” though acting didn’t immediately feel like a given. “I suddenly found myself a lead and wondered if I truly belonged. I hadn’t trained, and I needed time to understand myself. After a year away, I realized I actually wanted to return.” She came back with roles in “Love Me Tender,” “The Little Sister” and “A Private Life,” which all screened at Cannes last year, and each initiated by a director’s personal invitation. She returns this year in Christophe Honoré’s “Orange-Flavored Wedding” and as part of the short film jury, all while preparing two solo exhibitions. “My art gives me freedom,” she says. “I’ve found a balance between acting and my own practice. That’s a real plus.”

Ella Rumpf 

Born in Paris and raised in Zurich, Rumpf has worked across the Swiss, French, German, British and American industries, earning acclaim for “Raw” and “Marguerite’s Theorem,” and turning heads on “Succession” and “Tokyo Vice.” This year, she returns to Cannes with Sarah Arnold’s “Too Many Beasts.” “The U.S. is very business-oriented, very structured and industrial. In France, it’s the opposite: auteur-driven, obsessed with detail. And French sets are chaos, people everywhere, no space. When I first arrived, I thought, ‘How does anything get done?’ But that chaos is brilliant. It creates energy. Everything is imperfect and volatile. People collide, experiment. French films feel less programmed, more alive.”

Théodore Pellerin

Montreal native Théodore Pellerin landed a gig on Quebecois television straight out of high school and he hasn’t slowed down since. “The set became my film school,” he says. “I’ve learned everything from working.” Along the way, Pellerin has collaborated with an enviable roster, forging a close bond with Philippe Lesage before landing projects with Xavier Dolan and Ari Aster, and making a splash in the acclaimed “Lurker.” The run culminated in a career high with his starring role in Pauline Loquès’s Cannes-acclaimed “Nino” — scoring the young star a César for most promising actor. Riding that momentum, Pellerin has already wrapped Nicole Garcia’s “Milo” and Tom Ford’s “Cry to Heaven.” He’ll next star in films from Philippe Lesage and Remi Giordano, and will serve on this year’s Cannes Critics’ Week jury. “All I really want,” he adds, “is access to well-written scripts. Those are rare.”