Alpe d’Huez Film Festival: “Avignon”, big winner, wins three prizes

He was one of our favorites. “Avignon” by Johann Dionnet won the supreme award, the Grand Jury Prize, at the 28th Alpe-d’Huez comedy festival, which ended this Saturday evening. A trophy awarded at the end of a joyful, warm and funny ceremony, just like the week, hosted by Bertrand Usclat in great form. “I will announce eight prizes that can change lives. For me, who is in two films in the competition, it is also eight opportunities to be publicly humiliated in front of a thousand people, attacked the master of ceremonies. I’m going to welcome the winners with a smile, even though I just want to kill them. »

For his first feature film, a love story between two actors (Baptiste Lecaplain and Elisa Erka) during the Avignon festival, the big winner managed to capture this unique atmosphere, this effervescence in the heat of summer. The atmosphere, the shows galore, the artists who invade the squares and alleys, where we tow and put up our posters, in a joyful bazaar. We love this group of friends with their faults and their little cowardices, who stick together when things get tough.

“I dedicate this prize to all the struggling theater companies”

“I dedicate this prize to all theater companies that are struggling, to all people in the profession and those who think they are not good enough to be loved,” responded Johan Dionnet, in tears, brandishing his heavy trophy, in the shape of a red King Kong lifting a golden disc. This film is a miracle. I swear, until the end, we thought it wasn’t going to do it,” reacted the filmmaker, who shot last summer and finished the film just a few days before the selection for the festival.

The jury, chaired by Elsa Zylberstein, visibly had difficulty deciding between the ten films in the competition, including seven first feature films. The members created a “special mention”, awarded to “L’Amour c’est surcoté”, by Mourad Winter. Another love story with Hakim Jemili and Laura Felpin. Another first film too, a flood of explosive valves, with a truly beautiful sensitivity, in both the words and the direction.

The Special Jury Prize was awarded to “Les Règles de l’art”, a comedy by Dominique Baumard about a trio of thieves in the art world with Melvil Poupaud at odds, as a somewhat simple-minded watch expert, and Sofiane Zermani, alias Fianso. The prize for male performance was awarded to Benjamin Lavernhe, absent from the festival, in “The Mixture of Genres” by Michel Leclerc, a crazy and crazy, political and creative comedy about feminism, masculinism and the injunctions of society.

Laughter and tears

Two actresses, who play in the same film, were awarded the Ex-aequo Female Actor Prize. Hélène Vincent and Juliette Gasquet, sublime, who radiate in “On ira” by the very promising Enya Baroux. A “Little Miss Sunshine” style initiatory journey of a grandmother, Marie, her son and her granddaughter Anna. The old lady organized an assisted suicide, but without warning her loved ones. Which gives rise to misunderstandings and a series of situations that are as funny as they are upsetting.

We laugh and cry, a lot, in this other first film. “We’re not going to leave each other anymore,” says Hélène Vincent, to her very young colleague who plays her granddaughter. “It’s crazy, I just came to ski,” laughs Juliette Gasquet, 18, moved.

Here, it is also the public who votes. And he rewarded “Le Répondeur” by Fabienne Godet. The story of a successful writer in search of peace, who entrusts a talented imitator who is struggling to break through with his cell phone 24 hours a day with the mission of answering it by pretending to be him. “Standing ovation for you audience,” reacted the director. I promised my sons to thank Beyoncé, so I hope she brings me luck in the future. »