American Film Festival

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The Festival of American Films ( French Festival du cinéma américain de Deauville ) is a film festival in the French coastal city of Deauville ( Normandy ). It is dedicated to US independent cinema and has been held annually since 1975. The festival only lost its non-competitive character in 1995 with the introduction of an award ceremony by a jury.

History and present

The American Film Festival was launched in 1975 in Deauville, Norman, by Lionel Chouchan and André Halimi. It was initially financed with the help of the local casino and hotel chain Groupe Lucien Barrière , and it also received support from the city itself under the then mayor Michel d'Ornano. The establishment of the festival took place in the context of and as a result of the opening of the city to international tourism.

The venue is the Center International de Deauville , and the event runs from the first Thursday in September of each year to the Sunday of the following week. From the beginning, the festival was dedicated to cinema across the Atlantic, initially without competition. Awards have been made for the best feature film since 1995 and for the best short film since 1998.

Since 1977, honors have been given to deserving personalities of American cinema as part of the festival called Les Hommages . Not least for this reason, American stars are more frequent guests. Several tributes were awarded posthumously, including a. 1987 to Rita Hayworth . There were also thematic homages on various occasions, e.g. B. for the 25th anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival 2006.

Awards and juries

Grand Jury Prize

Prize winner Benh Zeitlin visiting the festival (2012)

The original title of the award is Grand Prix du Jury . Between 1995 and 1997 it was first called Grand Prix spécial Deauville , then in 1998 and 1999 Grand Prix du cinéma indépendant américain .

Jury Prize

The original title of the award is Prix ​​du jury . Between 1995 and 1997 the prize was called the Prix ​​du jury spécial Deauville , and in 1998 and 1999 the Prix ​​spécial du jury du cinéma indépendant américain .

Composition of the juries

Coups de cœur LTC

Between 1987 and 1994 a kind of unofficial competition existed as a forerunner of the award ceremony; At each festival meeting, one or two independent films were highlighted:

literature

  • Roland Godefroy: Deauville: 25 ans de cinéma américain: Des stars dans la ville. éditions CID, Deauville 2000 (French).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. The second most beautiful gift from France to America. In: FAZ . September 18, 2014, p. 12.