The Deauville American Film Festival is launching a new industry initiative designed to bridge the gap between the French and U.S. film sectors.
“Deauville has always been the leading European platform for American cinema,” says festival director Aude Hesbert. “But our industries operate in such different ways, and we rarely speak the same production language. With this new program, we want to turn the festival into a space for real dialogue and collaboration.”
Rather than introducing a traditional co-production market, the festival will host a focused one-day program of panels, case studies, and networking sessions on September 8, positioning Deauville as a key transatlantic meeting point.
The day will be split into two thematic sections. The morning – organized in collaboration with public institutions like the CNC and major players such as Mediawan – will highlight the strengths of the French production ecosystem, with panels on international appeal and case studies of recent U.S. films shot in France. In the afternoon, sessions developed with the French actors’ guild ADAMI will spotlight American production practices, offering local professionals insights into areas such as casting direction and intimacy coordination.
“For American productions seeking new models—whether to finance, lower costs, or access international talent—France’s incentives can be a real lifeline,” says Hesbert. “Programs like the CNC’s World Cinema Fund, now open to U.S. projects, are particularly valuable for emerging filmmakers struggling to get their first features off the ground.”
At the same time, Hesbert notes growing interest from French creatives looking westward. “I often hear from French filmmakers and performers eager to work in the U.S., but unclear on how to navigate casting or industry norms,” she adds. “These panels are designed to close that knowledge gap and provide actionable tools.”
This new section marks the first major initiative under festival director Aude Hesbert. Prior to joining Deauville, Hesbert led North American operations for Unifrance, the French film promotion agency, and later oversaw French cultural services in the U.S., with a focus on cinema and the audiovisual sector, through the Los Angeles-based Villa Albertine. Since taking the reins last year, she has aimed to expand Deauville’s footprint within the U.S. industry, and to bolster the festival’s influence on the Oscar race by welcoming an ever-more international set of AMPAS voters.
Zoey Deutch in “Nouvelle Vague”
The initiative also arrives amid a standout year for Franco-American collaboration. Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague” and Rebecca Zlotowski’s “Vie Privée,” starring Jodie Foster, were among the highlights at Cannes, while the fall festival circuit will continue the momentum with Alice Winocour’s “Coutures,” featuring Angelina Jolie at Paris Fashion Week, and Jim Jarmusch’s France-shot “Father, Mother, Sister, Brother,” produced in partnership with Charles Gillibert.
Reflecting this cross-cultural moment, Deauville will honor “Nouvelle Vague” star Zoey Deutch with its Hollywood Rising Star Award and will host a special screening of Joachim Trier’s Cannes Grand Prix winner “Sentimental Value.”
Though not an American production, the film features a pivotal sequence shot at last year’s Deauville Festival, in which a European director meets an American actress on the Normandy coast and casts her in his most personal project. A fictional scene – but one that mirrors the kind of international exchange the festival now hopes to foster in earnest.
The 51st Deauville American Film Festival runs from September 5 – 14. “Alpha” star Golshifteh Farahani will serve as jury president.
