Union des Réalisatrices et Réalisateurs (U2R)

Overview

The Union des Réalisatrices et Réalisateurs (U2R) is the French trade union (syndicat) representing fiction and animation directors whose works are distributed in cinema, television, festivals, VOD platforms, and digital media. Created on November 5, 1999, originally as Groupe 25 Images, the organization evolved into U2R to represent directors across all fiction and animation formats. The union is based in Paris and is a member of FERA (Federation of European Film Directors), connecting French directors to the broader European advocacy network.

U2R operates alongside the Societe des Réalisatrices et Réalisateurs de Films (SRF), which was founded in 1968 and focuses on cultural and artistic advocacy, including organizing the Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Cinéastes) at Cannes. The two organizations cover complementary professional interests: SRF for creative and cultural matters, U2R for economic and labor rights. SRF has over 500 members and is open to all filmmakers (fiction, documentary, animation, short and feature). U2R specifically represents fiction and animation directors who receive diffusion rights.

Membership and Dues

U2R membership is open to directors of fiction and animation whose works are distributed in cinema, on television, at festivals, on VOD platforms, or in digital media, and who receive diffusion rights (droits de diffusion). The membership fee is calculated as 1% of the director's total net taxable professional income from the previous year, excluding diffusion rights, indemnities, and pensions. The annual minimum is EUR 150, the maximum is EUR 1,000, and a reduced rate of EUR 75 is available for students and precarious (precaire) workers. Membership is valid for 12 months.

For comparison, SRF membership dues are structured differently: EUR 40 minimum for short film directors, EUR 80 minimum for directors of one or two feature films, and EUR 100 minimum for directors of three or more features. SRF membership is also eligible for tax reduction at 66% for contributions above EUR 100.

French Director Authorship Rights

France's Code de la Propriete Intellectuelle establishes directors as co-authors of audiovisual works, with inalienable moral rights and the right to equitable remuneration from all forms of exploitation. This framework is among the most protective for directors in the world. Remuneration rights are managed collectively through collecting societies, principally the SACD (Societe des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques) for French-language film and the SCAM (Societe Civile des Auteurs Multimedia) for documentary.

When a French film is broadcast on television, streamed on a platform, shown in cinemas, or licensed internationally, royalties flow through the collecting societies back to the director and screenwriter as co-authors. The combination of negotiated initial fees and ongoing collecting society royalties generates continuing income from successful films over years and decades. U2R advocates for remuneration rates in individual contracts that reflect this long-term exploitation value and monitors industry practices that seek to minimize directors' economic participation.

CNC and French Film Policy

France's film production is funded through the CNC (Centre National du Cinema et de l'Image Animee), which collects levies from cinema ticket sales, television broadcasting, and streaming platforms, then redistributes them as grants, advances, and automatic aid to French film production. This system is among the most sophisticated film funding mechanisms in the world.

U2R engages with the CNC, the Ministry of Culture, and European institutions on policy issues affecting director remuneration and creative autonomy. The union participates in all negotiations and consultations that involve directing, and sits on the CNC's commissions, including the commission d'agrement and the commission de classification. U2R is also a member of the AMAPA board, giving members access to mediation in disputes between authors or between authors and producers.

Current advocacy priorities include streaming platform contributions to French film funding under EU requirements for local content investment, and negotiations with platforms like Netflix and Amazon, which U2R notes are accustomed to dealing with US guilds and require organized representation from French directors.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For international co-productions with France, the French authorship framework creates contractual and financial obligations toward French directors that differ significantly from work-for-hire frameworks. French directors working on co-productions retain their French copyright entitlements and collecting society membership, generating remuneration rights that continue after production wraps. Understanding these rights before finalizing co-production agreements prevents structural misalignments in how director compensation is managed.

For French fiction and animation directors, U2R membership provides trade union representation in contract negotiations, legal support, social security guidance (URSSAF, CNAV), and connection to FERA's European advocacy network. The union can also bring legal action to defend the collective interests of its members.

For documentary directors, U2R does not represent this category. Documentary directors should look to SRF for cultural advocacy and the relevant collecting societies for remuneration rights. The Garrd syndicat represents directors of reports and documentaries, and has formed an Intersyndicale des réalisatrices et réalisateurs with U2R.

See Also

For the cultural and artistic advocacy counterpart, see Societe des Réalisateurs de Films (SRF) in this directory. For the European directors federation that U2R participates in, see FERA in this directory. Use the Indie Film Budget Calculator to model French co-production budgets accounting for CNC automatic aid and collecting society royalty obligations.