Le pont d'Avignon depuis l'île de la Barthelasse

The Avignon Film Festival (created 1984), also known as the Avignon/New York Film Festival or Rencontres Cinématographiques Franco-Américain d'Avignon, took place every year in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

along with a twin film festival organised in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It was last held in 2008.

History

Avignon Film Festival was created to promote French/American independent cinema through previews, retrospectives and round-tables. An award ceremony encouraged young film directors to participate in the festival. The purpose was to bring together independent filmmakers from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and other

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an countries. Their mission was to encourage deeper understanding and appreciation for contemporary, thought-provoking

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

by showcasing the work of innovative filmmakers.

Feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

and

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

were presented in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and other

European languages Most languages of Europe belong to the Indo-European language family. Out of a total European population of 744 million as of 2018, some 94% are native speakers of an Indo-European language. Within Indo-European, the three largest phyla are Ro ...

. Every French film was

subtitled Subtitles and captions are lines of dialogue or other text displayed at the bottom of the screen in films, television programs, video games or other visual media. They can be transcriptions of the screenplay, translations of it, or informati ...

in English, and European films in English or French. Film directors, producers and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

s could join the discussions about their work with the public. In 1993 the

Harvard Film Archive The Harvard Film Archive (HFA) is a film archive and cinema located in the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dedicated to the collection, preservation and exhibition of film, the HFA houses ...

invited the organisation to co-produce the first American edition of ''Rencontres Cinématographiques franco-américaines d'Avignon''. In 1994, the founder, Jérôme Henry Rudes, launched the Avignon/New York Film Festival at the

Angelika Film Center Angelika Film Center is a movie theater chain in the United States that features independent and foreign films. It operates theaters in New York City, Texas, Washington, D.C., California and Virginia. Its headquarters are in New York City. ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. The festivals were held in June and November. The term "Avignon Film Festival" was born in 2000 due to the extension of the program to

Awards

* Le Roger: awarded to the Best Feature film from France, the Best Feature film from the USA, the Best Short film from France and the Best Short film from the USA. *Filming Award: awarded to the three best

feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

(American, French and European). * Panavision Award: for the three best

* Kodak Vision Award: for best

filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, cast ...

* SACD Scénario Award: for the two best scriptwriters

Le Roger Award Recipients

1996: * Best Feature - France: Le fabuleux destin de Madame Petlet / Camille de Casabianca * Best Feature - USA: Slings & Arrows / Geoffrey Sharp * Best Short - France: En garde, monsieur / Didier Fontan * Best Short - USA: Black Kites / Jo Andres 1997: * Best Feature - France: Des nouvelles du bon Dieu / Didier Le Pêcheur * Best Feature - USA: 'M' Word / Brett Parker * Best Short - France: Double jeu / Emmanuel Oberg * Best Short - USA: Around the Time / Phil Bertelsen 1998: * Best Feature - France: Artemisia / Agnès Merlet * Best Feature - USA: Once We Were Strangers / Emanuele Crialese * Best Short - France: Théo, t'es là? / Julie Lipinski * Best Short - USA: Tree Shade / Lisa Collins * Separate Star Award: Pyeon ji / Pierre Anais * Vision Award: Little Red Riding Hood / Scott Ramsey 1999: * Best Feature - France: Le ciel, les oiseaux,... et ta mère! /

Djamel Bensalah Djamel is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Djamel Abdoun (born 1986), French-born Algerian footballer *Djamel Amani (born 1962), former Algerian professional footballer *Djamel Ameziane, Algerian citizen, former resident of Can ...

* Best Feature - USA: Man of the Century / Adam Abraham * Best Short - France: Personne avant toi / Olivier Lécot * Best Short - USA: Making Change / Georgia Irwin Eisner * Separate Star Award: Weekend Getaway / Elizabeth Holder * Vision Award: The Money Shot / Elia Lyssy 2000: * Best Feature - France:

Salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

Joyce Buñuel Joyce Sherman Buñuel (born October 20, 1941) is a France, French director and screenwriter of American origin. Biography Joyce Sherman was born on October 20, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, into a family of Jews, Jewish emigrants ...

* Best Feature - USA: Blue Moon / John A. Gallagher * Best Short - France: Samedi, dimanche et aussi lundi / Eric Valette * Best Short - USA: City of Thieves / Jason Brandenberg * Separate Star Award: Générique / Xavier de Choudens * Vision Award: The Citizen / Oliver Bokelberg * Honorary Roger:

Vox Lumiere Vox Lumiere is a Los Angeles-based theater/concert production and company. Vox Lumiere's shows combine the playing of a silent film with the live performance of original songs, dance and music. Vox Lumiere has combined live performance with the fo ...

– Metropolis / Kevin Saunders Hayes ''(For his new score)'' 2001: * Best Feature - France: Origine contrôlée / Zakia Tahri & Ahmed Bouchaala * Best Feature - USA: How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog / Michael Kalesniko * Best Short - France: Raconte / Guillaume Malandrin * Best Short - USA: Here / Brendan Donovan * Separate Star Award: Raconte / Guillaume Malandrin * Vision Award: The Photographer / Vanja Cernjul * Honorary Roger:

Jacqueline Bisset Winifred Jacqueline Fraser Bisset ( ; born 13 September 1944) is a British actress. She began her film career in 1965 and first came to prominence in 1968 with roles in '' The Detective'', ''Bullitt'', and ''The Sweet Ride'', for which she rec ...

''(In recognition of her 30-year acting career both in France and America),''

– The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Kevin Saunders Hayes ''(For his new score)'' 2002: * Best Feature - France: Grégoire Moulin contre l'humanité /

Artus de Penguern Artus de Penguern (13 March 1957 – 14 May 2013) was a French director, writer and actor of Bretons, Breton descent. On stage Filmography References External links

* 1957 births French film directors 2013 deaths French people ...

* Best Feature - USA: The Holy Land / Eitan Gorlin * Best Short - France: Les petits oiseaux / Fred Louf * Best Short - USA: Celebration / Daniel Stedman * Vision Award: Pourquoi se marier le jour de la fin du monde? / Harry Cleven 2003: * Best Feature - France: Les diables / Christophe Ruggia * Best Feature - USA: Melvin Goes to Dinner /

Bob Odenkirk Robert John Odenkirk (; born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker best known for his role as Saul Goodman on ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). For the latter, he has re ...

* Best Short - France: J'attendrai le suivant... / Philippe Orreindy * Best Short - USA: Coyote Beach / Markus Griesshammer * Vision Award: The Quality of Mercy / Stephen Marro * "Valérie" Award: Sandra Schulberg * Special Roger: Wings / Sasha Gordon ''(For artistic accomplishment - original score)'' 2004: * Best Feature - France: Comme si de rien n'était / Pierre-Olivier Mornas * Best Feature - USA: David Hockney: The Colors of Music / Maryte Kavaliauskas & Seth Schneidman * Best Short - France: Soyons attentifs... / Thierry Sebban * Best Short - USA: The Reunion / Ben Epstein 2005: * Best Feature - France: Ze film /

Guy Jacques Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an unincorpo ...

* Best Feature - USA: Lbs. /

Matthew Bonifacio Matthew Bonifacio (born c. 1973) is an American filmmaker. He was born and raised in Brooklyn. Bonifacio is married to Julianna Gelinas Bonifacio. For their work in '' Lbs.'', Bonifacio and Carmine Famiglietti were nominated for the Independent ...

* Best Short - France: Handicap / Lewis Martin Soucy * Best Short - USA: The Method / Jason Holzman 2006: * Best Feature - Europe: Pour l'amour de Dieu / Ahmed Bouchaala & Zakia Tahri * Best Feature - USA: JailCity /

Dan Eberle Dan Eberle (born September 20, 1974 in San Diego, California) is an American film actor, writer, producer and director. Early life and education Eberle attended University of North Texas with a scholarship in jazz performance and then worked as ...

* Best Short - Europe: Intimità / Matteo Minetto * Best Short - USA: Hot Afternoons Have Been in Montana / Ken Kimmelman * Pierre Salinger Award for Documentary Filmmaking: Blues by the Beach / Joshua Faudem * Chateuneuf-du-Pape Cinema Award:

John Turturro John Michael Turturro (; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement. He has appeared in over sixty feature films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, ...

2007: * Best Feature - Europe: Komma / Martine Doyen * Best Feature - USA: Superheroes / Alan Brown * Best Short - Europe: Il était une fois... Sasha et Désiré / Cécile Vernant * Best Short - USA: To Paint the Portrait of a Bird / Seamus McNally

External links

Avignon Film Festival on IMDB

Avignon Film Festival Archives

Film festivals in France Avignon {{film-festival-stub