About Us - French Riviera Film Festival

Our Approach

The sixth annual French Riviera Film Festival (FRFF) will recognize and celebrate short-form content created for film, television, Web and all digital platforms. In the glamorous South of France setting, FRFF invites filmmakers from around the globe to participate in the two-day festival that includes screenings, awards ceremony, and closing gala party. FRFF will place the spotlight on the best short-form filmed content during the time period of the annual Festival de Cannes. A prestigious jury panel will select Best Drama Short, Best Comedy Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Animation Short, Best Experimental Short, Best Lifestyle Short, Best Fashion Short, Best Music Video, Best Female Filmmaker Award, Best Director Award, Best Actor Award, Best Actress Award, and Industry Excellence Award. Attendees and participants will include filmmakers, industry executives, celebrities, media, and influencers.

Festival Team

Nicole Muj

Co - Founder

Nicole Goesseringer Muj is the founder of KULTURA PR INTERNATIONAL, a boutique public relations agency that specializes in international entertainment and cultural clients, including Comcast International Media Group, Metan Global Entertainment Group, Eurocinema On Demand, RockTheWeb!, Berlin Tourism Marketing, The Stas Namin Centre/Russian Nights Festival, Maverick Entertainment Group, Romance in A Can Film Festival, film “No Bad Days,” The Los Angeles St. Petersburg Sister City Committee, film “Altered Minds,” Lera de Marina Fine Jewelry, Steve Barakatt, Vincent Pastore (“Sopranos”), Jinke Entertainment Group/Kurosawa Production, The Bruce Lee Project (Keanu Reeves, Shannon Lee), documentary "Cancer Can Be Killed" and many more.
Previously, Nicole served as Associate Director, Worldwide Publicity, E! Networks for over four years, where she oversaw media relations for E!'s rapidly expanding international division, including the E! International Network and E!'s program sales division. She also was responsible for domestic trade and consumer publicity for E!, The Style Network and E! Online.
Additionally, she worked in new media/entertainment convergence public relations at mPRm Public Relations and was responsible for several high proﬁle accounts, including Sony Pictures. Nicole also worked at Steeplechase Media/Comspan Communications as Director of Marketing. She holds a Master of Arts in Communications from California State University, Fullerton, and a Bachelor of Arts in Slavic Studies from the University of Ottawa in Canada.

Gotham Chandna

Co - Founder

Marketing & PR Savant. With over a decade of marketing and PR experience under his belt, Gotham is recognized as one of the top 100 Twitter users in PR. His main focus is on the evolving landscape of digital marketing and media and its transformation in the B2B and B2C promotional aspect. Passionate about indie and global cinema, he serves on the jury of Petit Cannes Film Festival and hosts workshops, roundtable sessions, panels and special events during the Sundance and Cannes film festivals. In the past few years, he has worked on several dozens of feature-length, short film, documentary, and web projects promoting and marketing at film festivals around the world. His online contribution to blogs includes The Huffington Post, Engadget, Buzzfeed, Destination Luxury, Indie Entertainment Magazine and more.
His work at Cloud 21 (PR & Marketing agency) includes several years of work in the entertainment and lifestyle verticals. Some of the key events and campaigns where Gotham has served include brands like Bang & Olufsen, Audi, LG Electronics, Uber, RocaWear, TEVA, People Water, Bodvar of Sweden, Artful Dodger, Nokia, and Sound City.
With a double Bachelors and an MBA in Marketing, Gotham is perpetually finding the philosophical "why". Favorite film genres include Horror and Psychological Thriller.
He is also the Founder of Gothamology.

Kate Elfatah

Partner/ Executive Producer

Kate Elfatah is an accomplished and experienced professional in the field of digital marketing and content creation. As the Founder and CEO of HoM Consulting, assisting businesses and independent filmmakers for over ten years, guiding them in building their digital presence.

Beyond her role at HoM Consulting, Kate is also involved in other ventures. As a producer of international and local events, she applies her strategic mindset and creative flair to create successful and engaging experiences. Some of her credits are: Emerge Lounge and Social Film Loft during the Sundance Film Festival.

Additionally, she hosts a podcast called "Eight by Kate," where she shares insights, industry trends, and interviews guests related to her expertise. Being the events editor for Gothamology.com, a luxury lifestyle magazine, she has the opportunity to curate and shape content that caters to a sophisticated audience.

Kate’s diverse skill set and experience in various areas of media and marketing make her a notable figure in the industry. With her passion for creating meaningful connections and driving businesses to their full potential, it's evident that she is a valuable asset to her clients and the media companies she collaborates with.

When Kate isn’t busy with helping brands get seen, she’s having fun watching movies and reviewing them Indie Entertainment Media, on her Kate’s Movie Reviews Social Channels, YouTube. and contributor to Cherry Picks.

Advisory Board

Michael Benaroya

Founder, International Film Trust

Michael Benaroya is a producer and founder of International Film Trust (IFT), an international sales company, and Eclipse Films. As a producer, Benaroya has been responsible for critically acclaimed films such as “Lawless,” “Kill Your Darlings,” “The Words,” and the Academy Award-nominated “Margin Call.” Benaroya has produced 20 theatrical feature films and won an Indie Spirit Award for “Best First Feature” (first feature by director JC Chandor), as well as a National Board of Review Award for “Top 10 Independent Film,” and an AACTA award for Best Picture. Benaroya has had films in competition at Sundance, Toronto, Berlin, and Cannes, among other major festivals. In 2012, he had the #2 and #3 films in the box office, simultaneously with “Lawless” and “The Words,” films he both produced and for which he provided all the production “equity” financing.

IFT represents theatrical feature film productions from third-party productions, as well as Benaroya’s films, and has helped contribute funds to production for over a dozen films since its inception.

Most recently, Benaroya launched Eclipse Films in order to create original content for film and television, with TV series having been optioned by major networks. He has also created four comic series, including one in development, co-created by Stan Lee.

Joan Burney Keatings

MBE, Chief Executive, Cinemagic

Joan Burney Keatings is a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), and chief executive of the influential youth film non-profit Cinemagic. Launched in 1989, Cinemagic's objective is to present opportunities to young people in the film and television industries through inclusive projects and productions that support people from all communities and with all abilities. Since its inception, Cinemagic has evolved thanks to Burney Keatings’ unwavering tenacity and determination, transforming the organization from a Belfast-based film festival to an award-winning charity with a presence in Dublin, London, France, Los Angeles, New York, and Boston.

Cinemagic has become the largest film event for young people in the UK and Ireland, garnering the attention and support of many high-profile patrons, including Liam Neeson, Pierce Brosnan, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Paula Malcomson and Julian Fellowes. The charity also welcomed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Princess Kate at workshops in recent years. The program's alumni have gone on to excel in the arts, with many of them securing roles at BBC, HBO, Disney, Sky Atlantic, RTE and Bedlam Productions. A pioneer in cross-community relations through the arts, Cinemagic has expanded its footprint to impact young people in challenged communities all over the world.

Burney Keatings' efforts at the helm of Cinemagic have yielded much recognition thanks to phenomenal statistics that show the charity has engaged with over 500,000 globally, involved the screening of 3,000 films and hosted almost 1,000 masterclasses, workshops and special events since its inception. She received an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 for her services to the Arts in Northern Ireland making her the youngest-ever recipient of the honour. More recently, she was honoured at Cinemagic’s prestigious annual gala showcase event in Los Angeles by the 35th California State Senate District.

Bruno Chatelin

COO, FilmFestivals.com

Bruno Chatelin is a graduate of HEC MBA and spent 10 years with the prestigious international advertising agencies JWT, Masius, and Publicis. He then became a film distributor and launched some 250 films as marketing director for Columbia TriStar and served as managing director for UGC FOX. He was recognized as an innovative marketing expert and named by Film Français as one of the top film personalities when he merged the leading theatre chain UGC and Fox.

He went on to become an Internet entrepreneur and co-founded several companies, including filmfestivals.com that became a global leader in festival news and a partner of major festivals and markets. Chatelin contributed to the business development of an audiovisual studio center in Cherbourg led by Eicar Group.

He runs a film consulting boutique agency where he specializes in film marketing, international festival strategies and market presentations for Cannes, Berlin & AFM, and others. Today, he serves as COO of filmfestivals.com, while curating the 'Best for Fests' section.

Larry Namer

President/CEO, Metan Global Entertainment Group

Award-winning, entertainment industry veteran with over 45 years professional experience in film, television, live events and new media, Larry Namer is a founding partner of Metan Global Entertainment Group (MGEG), a venture created to develop and distribute entertainment content and media specifically for Chinese speaking audiences in China and abroad. MGEG recently launched the inspirational competition series The Bruce Lee Project in China, in conjunction with Company Films (co-owned by Keanu Reeves and Stephen Hamel), Bruce Lee Entertainment, LLC (Shannon Lee’s production company) and Benaroya Pictures. Mr. Namer was involved in creating the series’ original format and currently oversees sales and development for the project. The company recently founded the MGEG Film Fund I and serves as managing partner.

Mr. Namer is the co-founder of E! Entertainment Television, a company now valued at over $3.5 billion USD, and the creator of several successful companies in the United States and overseas. Among those companies are Comspan Communications that pioneered Western forms of entertainment in the former Soviet Union and Steeplechase Media that served as the primary consultant to Microsoft’s MiTV for developing interactive TV applications.

Ana B. Remos

VP, Editorial Director & Founder, azureazure.com

Emmy-nominated journalist, Ana B. Remos has had a distinguished career across two continents with leading names in magazines, television and newspapers. From fashion icons Roberto Cavalli and Carolina Herrera, cultural figures Fernando Botero and entertainment headliners Gwyneth Paltrow and Sharon Stone to Aerin Lauder, Mikhail Gorbachev and Prince Dmitri of Yugoslavia, she has been led into their private worlds, sharing their successes, disappointments and personal experiences. Growing up in Europe, of parents who were in the Foreign Service, she gained a passion for the world of global communications, different cultures and searching for the finest in life. She began her career in Madrid, seeing the world of fashion firsthand as a model, then moving on to host Operación Torpedo or El Tragabolas (cultural contests for young people) for Spain’s TVE, and later, as producer.

Miami was next on tap. She has been a guide to the luxury lifestyle and chronicler of the lives of leading figures in society, politics, fashion, culture, business and European nobility as editor of the most widely read “people” section in Knight Ridder’s (later McClatchy) Miami Herald, a “must read” for a who’s who”. At the same time, she became a correspondent for top publishing companies ranging from Vogue and Hola to Ocean Drive, among many others.

She is equally well known in television as the producer and host of El Círculo, a weekly TV magazine that featured the lifestyle of the international jet set. Her newest passion is azureazure.com, which she founded, a curated online guide to the global luxury lifestyle and the people behind it.

Dr. Laura Wilhelm

Founder/Principal, LauraWil Intercultural

Born in Philadelphia, Dr. Laura Wilhelm was raised in the Silicon Valley and San Diego. She attended Reed College, majoring in Russian and minoring in Classics. She studied and worked all over the world on academic scholarships and fellowships before obtaining her honors Ph.D. in Russian at the University of Kansas, and relocated to multicultural LA in 1994.

Since May 2009, Dr. Wilhelm has run the award-winning consulting company LauraWil Intercultural. She writes regular features for Indie Entertainment Magazine, The Hollywood Times, and Magic Image Hollywood Magazine and conducts research and lectures at local institutions, such as Emerson College, the University of Philosophical Research, and Woodbury University. Her work brings her into frequent contact with A-list celebrities, public figures, royals, writers, artists, directors and independent talents of all descriptions.

Dr. Wilhelm is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Dobro Slovo, the national Slavic honor society. She was nominated for an EMMA (Exceptional Merit in Media) Award from the National Women's Political Caucus, is listed in numerous WHO'S WHO, American Biographical Institute and International Biographical Centre publications and was a featured speaker at ABI/IBC meetings held in Washington, DC, and Vancouver, Canada.