After 25 years, the Colcoa (City of Lights, City of Angels) French Film Festival has been renamed the American French Film Festival, with the 26th edition of the festival set for Oct. 10-16. The festival will take place in-person at the Directors Guild theater in Hollywood.
The festival is a significant stop for French filmmakers and TV creators who have the opportunity to put their work in front of members of the Hollywood community in the heart of awards season. In 2021, “Black Box” and “Gallant Indies” were acquired out of the festival. More than 14,000 people attended the most recent edition in 2021.
Since launching in 1996, the festival added TV series before other North American festivals, a high school screenings program, an awards program, panels and happy hour talks and many other events.
“For the last 25 years, COLCOA was the festival to bring French film to the heart of Hollywood,” said Francois Truffart, Executive Producer and Programmer. “Looking ahead, we wanted to make our purpose and ongoing mission even more clear. The American French Film Festival is the first, largest and most-exclusive showcase of emerging and established French filmmakers in America.”
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“As Honorary President of the Franco-American Cultural Fund, I am proud to have accompanied this festival for more than 25 years,” said Costa-Gavras. “Having seen it grow, evolve and become one of the most important events in the United States entirely dedicated to French cinema and television, I have absolutely no doubt that it is THE American French Film Festival, and I welcome this new name that suits the festival perfectly.”
“As we celebrated our quarter century anniversary last year, we were moved by how our community of filmmakers, Francophiles and film enthusiasts came out in force in one of the more challenging times we have ever experienced,” said Anouchka van Riel, Deputy Director. “Now, as we rebrand as The American French Film Festival, we are poised to move into an exciting era of cross-cultural exchanges and artistic development supported by incredible partners like BNP Paribas and L’Oréal, which adds to the dynamic range of our mission of Americans discovering French cinema, television, and culture.”
The festival is produced by the Franco-American Cultural Fund, a collaboration between the DGA, MPA, France’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (SACEM) and WGAW. The American French Film Festival is also supported by Unifrance, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France’s Society of Authors, Directors and Producers (l’ARP), by TVFI, Air Tahiti Nui, Bank of the West/BNP Paribas, L’Oréal, TV5 Monde/Sling and Variety. The American French Film Festival Education Program is supported by ELMA.
