Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache's Festival Sense received at the Alpe d'Huez Film Festival the Unifrance comedy prize, rewarding the French comedy that made the most entries abroad in 2018.
"More than two million" of international spectators. Released in France in September 2017, this new film by the duo of Intouchables has gathered a total of "more than two million" of international spectators since its release, announced the executive director of Unifrance Isabelle Giordano, giving this award Tuesday night at Eric Toledano, at the opening ceremony of the Alpe d'Huez Comedy Film Festival. The film has made "360,000 spectators in Germany, almost 400,000 spectators in Spain", she added, while Unifrance publish Thursday its detailed figures of entries of French films abroad in 2018.
Reward a genre "not recognized enough". Created last year, the comedy prize Unifrance had rewarded for its first edition the family comedy Demain tout commence by Hugo Gélin, with Omar Sy. "We created this award because we wanted to reward what I think is one of the least recognized genres, not enough recognized around the world, and especially at home in France, in festivals, Caesar, etc., "said Isabelle Giordano.
The success of French comedies goes beyond borders. "French comedies abroad, it works, of course, we know the success of Intouchables and what we did to God , but there is always", she added. The Sense of the Party follows the organizer of a wedding where nothing goes as planned, played by Jean-Pierre Bacri. He is surrounded by a cast of choice, including Gilles Lellouche as a DJ, Jean-Paul Rouve as a disillusioned photographer and Vincent Macaigne as a depressive waiter.
32 million entries abroad, the record to beat of Intouchables . "When we started in cinema, we were told that comedy was a genre that did not export, because it used local references and could hardly be understood abroad. So we are even happier to see that abroad, finally, it is a kind that exports very well, "said Eric Toledano receiving his prize. Released in 2011 in France, Intouchables has achieved nearly 32 million entries abroad, a record to beat for a French film in French.
An American adaptation of the film, The Upside , was released Friday in the United States. She climbed to the top of the North American box office for her first weekend in theaters, despite criticism and controversy over the representation of disability.