Jean Dujardin and The Artist were awarded "best actor" and “best movie” Oscars. The Golden Palm went to Entre les murs. The Untouchables won top billing at the German box office. Luc Besson asked Angelina Jolie to star in his next film. All of these are signs of the drawing power of French films beyond the country's borders.
But what is the true status of the French cinema worldwide? What do foreign audiences really think of its directors and its actors? How are these films circulated? Why does France consider the exporting of its cinematic works important?
Gilles Renouard explores an as yet little understood aspect of French cinema its international drawing power. Covering the full range of knowledge available, he brings readers some totally new information about a history beset with triumphs and setbacks as old as the cinema itself. He explores how French films are perceived by audiences, festivals, journalists and foreign professionals. He explores the French cinema's economic weight and analyses the political dynamics behind the worldwide circulation of films. Readers will embark on an exciting tour of the cinema planet.

Gilles Renouard is Deputy Director of UniFrance Films, an organisation in charge of promoting French films worldwide.