This Saturday, October 7, at the Pathé Gare du Sud, the Nice Cinéroman Festival came to an end. Awards ceremony, premiere… A look back at this closing ceremony.
“Thank you for this festival which was magical… but exhausting!” declared Daniel Benoin, co-founder of the festival, smiling. Indeed, the forty-five screenings of this fifth edition were not a walk in the park! It was Alex Lutz, president of the jury, who inaugurated this awards ceremony. Through a speech laced with a touch of humor, he paid tribute to the 7th art and its artists.
For the Cinéroman festival, the iconic César took the form of a Sosno. The awarded artists received a dazzling “Tête Carrée” in a metallic gray.
A Nice Native Receives the Romain Gary Award
“I am very proud to be from Nice,” assured actress Michèle Laroque. A former student of the Côte d’Azur University, she is now one of the big names in French cinema. She truly established her career with her role as a “tight-laced bourgeois” in Pédale douce in 1995. This role earned her a nomination in 1997 for the César for Best Supporting Actress. This Saturday, October 7, Christian Estrosi, the mayor of Nice, was keen to award the Romain Gary Prize to “our brilliant Nice native!”
The Cinéroman festival was an opportunity to preview the mini-series “Tout pour Agnès” with Michèle Laroque in the lead role. Directed by Vincent Gareno, this series retraces the true story of the Palais de la Méditerranée. An emblematic building of the French Riviera capital, this story stirred up the entire Nice population. In the 1970s, Renée Le Roux managed this great casino in Nice with an iron fist. Caught in the midst of various power struggles and mafia stories, her daughter, Agnès Le Roux, mysteriously disappeared. For Renée, there is no doubt about the suspect: it is Maurice Agnelet, her beloved daughter’s lover. Renée Le Roux engaged in a relentless battle for several years until the truth came to light…
A New Addition: The New Generation Award
Initiated by the ISCAE School of Business and Communication, this fifth edition highlighted the youth of Nice’s students. Indeed, the “New Generation” award was granted by the vote of about fifty students from the city of Nice. Five students from the school in a master’s communication program spent a month searching for the festival’s future juries. There were two conditions to be on this jury: you had to be a student in Nice and love cinema. Once formed, the jury watched three films from the festival. These were La Petite by Guillaume Nicloux, The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan by Martin Bourboulon, and finally The Son directed by Florian Zeller.
For these master’s students, this award is only a starting point. Indeed, the goal is to progressively increase the number of student juries over the years. For them, this award allows giving a voice to Nice students. Moreover, it attracts young people who seem to be somewhat abandoning the theaters in favor of streaming platforms. Finally, slightly tired from the busy week, they expressed being particularly proud and happy to have worked for this event.
The Cinéroman Festival Awards
Best Adapted Film Award: L’Amour et les forêts by Valérie Donzelli, based on the novel by Eric Reinhardt
Best Actress Award: Mara Taquin for La Petite by Guillaume Nicloux
Best Actor Award: Hugh Jackman and Zen McGrath for The Son by Florian Zeller
Jury Special Mention: Laura Morante for Le Colibri by Francesca Archibugi
Jury Award (recognizing a remarkable individual who has significantly contributed to adapting novels for cinema): producer Anne-Dominique Toussaint
Jury Favorite Award: Benoît Magimel
Jury Favorite Award: Géraldine Nakache
Romain Gary Award: Michèle Laroque
New Generation Award (granted by a student jury): The Son by Florian Zeller.
