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Meet Filmmakers and Industry Guests
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For the 6th edition, we are honored by the presence of award winning actor, screenwriter and director Julie Delpy as patron of our festival.​
We are delighted to welcome producer Marianne Maddalena, directors Erige Sehiri, Nathan Ambrosioni and André Nerman, and actor Caroline Amiguet among others.
We are grateful for the support of Clay Epstein, founder of Film Mode Entertainment, who will moderate conversations after the screenings.
We are honored to welcome Julie Delpy as Patron of the 6th edition of the San Diego French Film Festival.
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Julie Delpy is a Paris-born actor, director, and screenwriter whose career spans several decades and continents. She has appeared in more than 30 films, and is widely recognized for her work as a filmmaker with a distinctive, personal voice.
Julie Delpy was discovered at 14 by Jean-Luc Godard. She earned a first César nomination for La Passion Béatrice (1987) and gained international recognition in Europa Europa (1990). She appeared in several European and Hollywood films, including Three Colours: White (1993), Killing Zoe (1994), and Before Sunrise (1995), the latter earning her lasting fame. She reprised her role as Céline in Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013), co-writing both scripts and receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Delpy has written, directed, and starred in acclaimed features such as 2 Days in Paris, The Countess, Le Skylab, 2 Days in New York, Lolo, and My Zoe, often blending sharp humor with intimate explorations of relationships, identity, and family.
She has been nominated for three César Awards, two Online Film Critics Society Awards, and two Academy Awards.
Les Barbares (Meet the Barbarians), presented on May 4 is her latest film.
Erige Sehiri is a French-Tunisian director, producer, and former journalist whose work bridges documentary realism and narrative cinema. Sehiri began her film career in documentary, directing the acclaimed "Railway Men" (2018), which captured the daily struggles of Tunisian railway workers. In 2022, she wrote, directed, and produced her first feature, "Under the Fig Trees", an intimate portrait of youth, labor, and fleeting moments of connection set in a rural fig orchard. The film premiered at the 54th Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival and was selected to represent Tunisia at the 2023 Academy Awards. It has since screened at major international festivals and been released theatrically in over twenty countries. Beyond her work in film, Sehiri is an active advocate for freedom of expression and media literacy. She is also a founding member of the Rawiyat–Sisters in Film collective, which supports women filmmakers across the Arab world and diaspora."Promised Sky", her second feature film premiered at Cannes Film Festival 2025, Official selection Un Certain Regard.
Photo: Erige Sehiri ©MayaZardi
Marianne Maddalena is an acclaimed American film and television producer best known for producing the Scream franchise, one of the most influential and commercially successful horror series in cinema history. As the longtime producing partner of Wes Craven and co-founder of Craven/Maddalena Films, she produced Scream (1996), a global phenomenon that launched a franchise exceeding $1.5 billion worldwide. While location scouting for the film, Maddalena discovered the now-iconic Ghostface mask, creating one of the most recognizable images in film history. She went on to produce Scream 2, 3, and 4, as well as Scream (2022), Scream VI (2023), and Scream 7 (2026), continuing the franchise’s multi-generational success. Her credits also include Music of the Heart, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song, with music by David Foster and performances by Gloria Estefan and *NSYNC, as well as Red Eye, starring Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams.
She moved to Cannes at eighteen with a clear goal of becoming a film producer; the city and its festival formed the backdrop of her earliest professional ambitions. In recognition of her contributions to cinema and her commitment to cultural exchange between France and the United States, Maddalena was appointed a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. She is currently preparing Scream 8, which will begin shooting in September 2026.
Nathan Ambrosioni (b. 1999), is a French filmmaker, writer, and director known for his emotionally rich, character-driven cinema that explores themes of family, love, and identity.
He began honing his craft in filmmaking in 2014 and 2015 by directing two self-produced genre films during school holidays. Both projects went on to tour international festivals: Brussels, Los Angeles, Montreal, Barcelona, Buenos Aires… Starting in 2016, Nathan shifted genres and wrote and directed a short film, First Breath (Ce qui nous reste), starring Zoé Adjani, which was selected at the Calgary and San Francisco festivals. In 2017, with support from the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), he produced his first feature film, Paper Flags (Les Drapeaux de papier). In 2021, once again writing on his own, he penned Toni (Toni, en famille), which he directed a year later with Camille Cottin in the lead role. The film earned no fewer than three awards at the 2023 Festival du Film de Demain: Best Film, Best Screenplay, and the Audience Award.
Since then, Nathan directed his second film with Camille Cottin in 2025, Out of Love (Les Enfants vont bien), which won him the Best Director award at its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, as well as the Valois de Diamant at the Festival du film francophone d'Angoulême.
André Nerman is a French actor, director, and comedian whose career spans theater, film, television, and musical performance. Trained in Paris, he has brought classical roles such as Romeo, Rodrigue, and Oreste to life alongside actors from the Comédie Française. A versatile artist, he has toured internationally, directed contemporary poetic works by Duras, Prévert, and Cocteau, and created musical shows. His theater work continues to engage audiences, while he also appears regularly in French film and television. Welcome to Iceland marks his debut as film director.
Caroline Amiguet is a French actor, writer, and creative producer whose work bridges European sensibility and American independent cinema. Born in Paris and raised between France and Switzerland, she brings a bilingual, bicultural voice to both screen and stage. She is known for her performances in Love All You Have Left, Angels Fallen, and Everybody Dies by the End. Her work has earned her Best Actor nominations at the GI Film Festival San Diego and the Oceanside International Film Festival. In 2019, she collaborated with Brand USA on a national tourism campaign in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, further expanding her presence within American media. As a creative producer, Amiguet develops character-driven projects that explore identity, moral tension, and cultural displacement. In theater, she wrote and directed the short play 2 Weeks with Ma Mère and created the solo show Pardon My French, a personal and comedic meditation on language, exile, and belonging. She was recently featured in ArtStops, presented by the San Diego Shakespeare Society, bringing classical text to life through her French-accented English with clarity and emotional precision. She stars in the short film Marie, presented during the Young Cinephiles’ Days of the San Diego French Film Festival. Based in Southern California since 2003, Amiguet continues to develop original stage and screen work shaped by her French roots, her transatlantic life, and her commitment to human-centered storytelling.
Coraline Petit – Marketing, Communications, and CSR Director
With over 15 years of experience in art, marketing, and corporate social responsibility, Coraline brings a holistic vision to help organizations implement lasting transformation strategies, bridging science, art, philosophy, and technology to inspire meaningful change.
She will present Reborn, a poetic short film she co-created with Alison Bounce and filmed entirely underwater, symbolizing the invisible pain, resilience, and rebirth experienced by women living with endometriosis, and aiming to raise awareness of the disease.
Q&A moderated by Clay Epstein
Clay Epstein, President of Film Mode Entertainment, leads a renowned global sales and distribution company with a focus on supporting producers. With recent successes like "CRYPTO," "LITTLE PINK HOUSE," and "AS SICK AS THEY MADE US," Clay's expertise spans both executive producing and representing worldwide rights. Previously, as SVP Sales & Acquisitions at Arclight Films, he played a crucial role in acquiring notable titles like "DOG EAT DOG" and "PREDESTINATION." Clay's influence extends to his position as Chairman of the Independent Film and Television Alliance, alongside roles as an instructor at UCLA Extension and a respected lecturer at film festivals worldwide.
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