French Riviera Film Festival

French Riviera Film Festival Announces 2023 Finalist Shorts and Unveils Official Festival Trailer

Festival to Feature Two Days of Screenings on May 19 and 20 at Eden Hotel & Spa in Cannes, Online Screenings on Sparq, Sixth Annual Global Entertainment Showcase and VIP  Receptions

Cannes, France,  May 2, 2023 - Scheduled from May 19-20, 2023, the fifth annual French Riviera Film Festival (FRFF), celebrating short film and short-form content from around the globe, is pleased to unveil the finalist shorts of the 2023 competition, the announcement was made today by festival co-founders Gotham Chandna and Nicole Goesseringer Muj.

Official 2023 FRFF Festival Trailer:  https://youtu.be/AtK-7Y0zYMI

First launched in 2019, FRFF recognizes and celebrates short-form content created for film, television, web and all digital platforms. Scheduled during the time period of the Festival de Cannes, FRFF invites filmmakers from around the globe to participate in the two-day event that includes screenings, Global Entertainment Showcase (to be announced shortly), VIP receptions, and closing gala awards ceremony.

“We’re pleased that our festival is celebrating its fifth year milestone,” comments Nicole Muj. “FRFF is becoming an established global festival, in celebration of the short film genre. We’re delighted to be in Cannes again this year.”

The festival will feature the works of filmmakers from more than 20 countries. The full list of finalist and honorable mention films in the award categories of Drama, Comedy, Documentary, Sci-Fi/Horror, Animation, Experimental, Lifestyle/Fashion, Music Video, Micro Short, and Activism is listed on the festival’s official website:  Finalists 2023 - French Riviera Film Festival 

The festival will kick-off with a special out-of-competition screening of the Oscar-nominated short Ivalu (Denmark/Greenland), by director Anders Walter, and producers Rebecca Pruzan and Kim Magnusson. Magnusson also received the FRFF Industry Excellence Award in 2022, in recognition of his stellar work in the global film industry.

At the official awards ceremony, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Audience, and Industry Excellence Awards will also be presented. Attendees and participants include filmmakers, industry executives, celebrities, media and influencers.

Free to attend festival screenings will be held live over two days from 10 am to 3 pm at the Eden Hotel & Spa (133 rue d’Antibes), with special ‘by invitation only’ receptions and awards events after each day’s screenings at the Bel-Air Fine Art Gallery and Eden Hotel. 

“For those who cannot make it to Cannes, we will also have our festival 

finalist and special mention films streamed online on SPARQ,” adds co-founder Gotham Chandna. “The festival’s virtual component allows for a much wider audience to enjoy the amazing work by our talented filmmakers.”

Event partners include Eden Hotel and Spa, Beverly Hills Hotel, Bel-Air Fine Art,  Chateau de Berne, The Good Gin, Cardinal du Four, VOGA Prosecco, Indie Entertainment Media, SPARQ, and filmfestivals.com.  Gift bag partners include Anais Life, Bionova, Crep Protect, Singletree Lane, and Velvet Eyewear.

Festival passes are now available for both online and in-person screenings and special events on the SPARQ platform at https://frff.sparqfest.live

(*online screenings run from May 19 – June 30, 2023.)

FRFF’s Advisory Board includes Michael Benoraya, founder, International Film Trust; Bruno Chatelin, COO, filmfestivals.com (also on festival jury), Emmy Award-winning actor Vincent De Paul; Larry Namer, president/CEO,  Metan Global Entertainment Group, Ana B. Remos, vice president, editorial director & founder, azureazure.com (also on festival jury), Dr. Laura Wilhelm, founder/principal, LauraWil Intercultural (also on festival jury), and Daphna Edwards Ziman, president, Cinémoi USA.  Jury members include Rehna Azim, awards editor, Movie Marker; Lena Basse, journalist, Hollywood Foreign Press Association; Claude Brickell, filmmaker, screenwriter and educator; Anna Marie de la Fuente; James Prestige, publisher, Close-Up Culture; entertainment attorney Tshombe Sampson; Eileen Tasca, managing director, Alien Films & Task Films; and Sue Vicory, founder, Heartland Films and womendocumentaryfilmmakers.com.

Cloud 21 PR International and Kultura PR International have produced numerous industry special events, including the annual “Global Entertainment Showcase” in partnership with ROSKINO during the Cannes Film Festival and Marché du Film, the annual “Production Without Borders” event during AFM, the annual Indie Entertainment Showcase in Park City, Utah, and “A Salute to Akira Kurosawa” with China’s Jinke Entertainment in Cannes in 2017, plus many others. Most recently, they produced the very successful virtual “3rd Annual Global Entertainment Showcase” held during the online Marché du Film.  The companies have co-produced events and worked with top entertainment and technology brands, including Cinando, Creative Coalition, Davines North America, E! Entertainment Television, ECU Film Festival, Eurocinema, Euromed, FlixSnip, Maverick Entertainment, Metan Global Entertainment Group, Oculus, Sony Interactive, Vesilind, 8K Miles Media Group, FanVestor, plus many others.