French Riviera Film Festival Announces 2022 Finalist Shorts and Unveils Official Festival Trailer

Festival to Feature Two Days of Screenings on May 20 and 21 at Eden Hotel & Spa in Cannes, Online Screenings on Sparq, Fifth Annual Global Entertainment Showcase and VIP Awards Receptions

Cannes, May 5, 2022 – Scheduled from May 20-21, 2022, the fourth annual French Riviera Film Festival (FRFF), celebrating short film and short-form content from around the globe, is pleased to announce the finalist shorts of the 2022 competition, the announcement was made today by festival co-founders Gotham Chandna and Nicole Goesseringer Muj.

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.

The festival will feature the works of filmmakers from more than 28 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 and Micro Short is listed on the festival’s official website: https://frenchrivierafilmfestival.com/finalists-2022/

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

“We’re truly thrilled to be back on the Croisette once again in 2022,” comments Goesseringer Muj. “The festival will kick-off with a special out-of-competition screening of the Oscar-nominated short from Denmark, On My Mind, by award-winning director Martin Strange-Hansen. We’re honored that the film’s executive producer Kim Magnusson will be in attendance to introduce the film and attend the festivities.”

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. FRFF will also present, out-of-competition, the festival premiere of Down From The Clouds (Turkey) starring Cansel Elçin.

“For those who cannot make it to Cannes, we will also have our festival finalist and honorable mention films streamed online on SPARQ,” adds co-founder Gotham Chandna. “The festival’s virtual component began during the pandemic, and we decided to continue it, allowing 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, DiFiore New York, Indie Entertainment Media, SPARQ, and filmfestivals.com.  Gift bag partners include Byroe, Laritzy, Lipsmart, Mesolyft, Pour Moi, and The Fragrance Group.

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

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; renowned actress Wendy Morgan, 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.

FRFF recently launched a celebrity PSA campaign and partnership with DiFiore New York in support of the people of Ukraine. The festival recently announced the non-profit French Riviera Art and Cultural Alliance to promote cultural exchange and collaboration among filmmakers around the world.

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 “3^rd 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.