Magnolia Pictures Release ‘The Animal Kingdom’ Takes Top Award At 29th Rendez-Vous with French Cinema In New York

EXCLUSIVE: Thomas Cailley’s French box office hit The Animal Kingdom has continued its crowd-pleasing run to take the Audience Award prize at the 29th edition of Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in New York.

Set in a world where human beings start transmuting into animals, The Animal Kingdom world premiered as the opening film of Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2023 and went on to make more than $8.5M at the French box office.

Magnolia Pictures opens the fantasy drama, which went on to top the nominations for France’s 2024 César Awards with nods in 12 categories, in major U.S. markets on March 15.

Nathan Ambrosioni’s Toni received a Special Mention for the Audience Award. The drama stars Camille Cottin as a single mother and former singer contemplating her next step in life as her five children start to leave the family nest.

In other prizes Iris Kaltenbäck’s The Rapture was feted with the Best Emerging Filmmaker Award, while Erwan Le Duc’s received a Special Mention with No Love Lost.

The award is decided by six New York City college students chosen by professors at the Rendez-Vous’s partner universities.

No Love Lost and The Rapture are both participants of the 10th Young French Cinema program this year, a joint venture between New York-based cultural institution Villa Albertine and French film and TV promotional body Unifrance.

The Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in New York is a joint initiative between French film and TV promotional body Unifrance and Film at Lincoln Center (FLC).

This year’s edition showcased 21 French films, more than half of which were directed by women and eight by first-time filmmakers. The festival issued 8,400 tickets, including to 750 middle and high school students.

The Rendez-Vous with French Cinema is among a number of popular events organized by FLC across the year alongside New York Film Festival and New Directors/New Films.