Presided this year by actress Émilie Dequenne and actor Jeremy Irons, the fourth edition of the Champs-Élysées Film Festival broke the 22 000 barrier, accompanied all week by bright sunshine.
Three Audience Awards were awarded during the Closing Ceremony which took place on Tuesday night at the Publicis Cinemas.
- The Audience Award for Best American Independent Feature-Lengh Film, presented by Jeremy Irons, was awarded to the film The Road Within by Gren Wells, the story of a young man with Tourette’s Syndrome who embarks on a road trip.
- The Audience Award for Best French Short Film, presented by Émilie Dequenne and Céline Nallet, Gerenal Director of the HD1 channel, was awarded to J’aurais pas dû mettre mes Clarks by Marie Caldera. The film will be screened on HD1.
- The Audience Award for Best American Short Film, presented by actress Zoë Felix and Éric Legendre from Variety, was awarded to Scheherazade by Mehrnoush Aliaghaei.
The High-School Jury Award, presented by Adrien Fallu, the marketing and communication director of TCM, the object of which is to present classics of the cinema to young adults, was given to Shoot the Moon, by Alan Parker, screened in the section « TCM Cinéma Essentials ».
The Festival was created by the producer, distributor and exhibitor Sophie Dulac. More than 100 films were screened during the festival, showcasing the diversity of French and American cinema in six cinemas on the most prestigious avenue in the world: The Balzac, the Gaumont Champs-Élysées, the Lincoln, the Publicis Cinemas, UGC George V and MK2 Grand Palais.
Prestigious Guests of the Festival this year
- William Friedkin met with the public for an amazing Q&A at the end of the screening of the restored director’s cut version of Sorcerer,
- Alan Parker, who confirmed his decision not to shoot anymore, gave a remarkable masterclass on the cult movies which have made him famous from Fame to Bugsy Malone and Midgnight Express,
- Josh and Benny Safdie, emblematic directors of the today’s New York cinema, introduced their shorts and feature movies, and premiered their new film Heaven Knows What,
- Euzhan Palcy, director of Sugar Cane Alley and A Dry White Season gave a brilliant masterclass, telling how she became at that time the voice of black people, that nobody wanted to hear,
- Vilmos Zsigmond, Oscar winner director of photography who has worked with the greatest directors from Spielberg and Cimino to Brian de Palma, introduced the restored version of The Rose by Mark Rydell,
- And let’s not forget our President Jeremy Irons, passionate cinephile who haunted the cinemas all week and also gave a masterclass.
A professional programme in constant progression
- More than 50 distributors, producers, international sales agents came from all over the world to discover six independent American films, works in progress, of which Diverge by James Morrisson, was awarded help with several post production services necessary to complete the film.
- The growing success of the second edition of the Paris Coproduction Village, organised in collaboration with Les Arcs European Film Festival took place from 10th to 12th June with a Brazilian focus and delighted the professionals who came from many different countries.
During the week, numerous American directors in competition came from the US to debate with the audience after the screenings: Hannah Fidell for 6 Years, Onur Tukel for Applesauce, Matthew Heineman for Cartel Land, Andrew Renzi for Franny, Sebastián Silva for Nasty Baby, Gren Wells and her producer Brent Emmery for The Road Within, Rachel Wolther producer of Stinking Heaven and Jenner Furst, producer of Welcome to Leith ; not forgetting the French and American shorts films, premieres, etc…
All the best moments, interviews with the Presidents, Directors, guests, and red carpets are available thanks to the Festival Web-TV on: youtube.com/CEfilmfestival
Press material available for download in the Festival’s website Press Area.
