In November 2024, I led the France in Focus program for CINEMANIA's 30th edition—a cultural undertaking that required equal parts vision and execution.
The brief was straightforward: celebrate France as guest country at North America's leading francophone film festival. The reality involved orchestrating 17 institutional partnerships, welcoming over 40 French delegates, and the programming of 20 film, two exhibitions with an extended VR showcase, two conferences and a cocktail event.
I didn't just curate the program, I built it from the ground up. That meant negotiating with the Institut Français, the Grand Est region and the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, conceptualizing an urban exhibition called Heritage on Screen, designing a retrospective around iconic female figures in French cinema, and overseeing every logistical thread from scenography to public relations.
The constraints were real: tight deadlines, complex production requirements, a sprawling network of stakeholders. But complexity, when handled with clarity, becomes coherence. The program succeeded not despite its scale, but because every element served a singular narrative: one that honored French cinema while creating genuine connection for audiences and partners alike.
This is what I do: I shape cultural programs that function as both experience and infrastructure. Strategy, yes, but also the belief that stories, properly told, can carry institutions forward.
