26/01/2021 - Sébastien Lifshitz’s documentary is named Best French Film 2020 while Josep by Aurel is crowned the winner in the first films category

Adolescentes by Sébastien Lifshitz

Awarded by a jury composed of critics and key figures from the world of the 7th art and presided over by Gilles Jacob, the prestigious 2020 Louis-Delluc Award for the French film of the year has gone to Sébastien Lifshitz’s Adolescentes [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which is the first documentary to have scooped this prize since 2008 (Modern Life [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Raymond Depardon) and only the fourth in the award’s history (following the Louis-Dellucs won by Nicole Védrès in 1947 and Jean Rouch in 1958).

Unveiled in Critics’ Week during the Locarno Film Festival of 2019, Adolescentes is the 4th documentary feature film by Sébastien Lifshitz (who made his film debut in fiction with Come Undone, Wild Side and Going South [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) after Les Invisibles [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Bambi [+see also:
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film profile] and Les vies de Thérèse [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. The director has since signed his name to Little Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sébastien Lifshitz
film profile], a much appreciated movie at the 2020 Berlinale. Produced by Agat Film & Ex Nihilo and co-produced by Arte France Cinéma and Arte France’s Society and Culture division, Adolescentes was distributed in France in September by Ad Vitam and is sold worldwide by The Party Film Sales.

The Louis-Delluc Award for Best First Film, meanwhile, was won by Aurel’s animated film Josep [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aurel
film profile], adding yet another trophy to an already impressive collection which began with the 2020 Cannes Film Festival’s Official Selection label and the 2020 European Film Award for Best Animated Film, and continued with the 2021 Lumières award in the same category. Interestingly, this is the first time an animated feature has been singled out for this award (the genre having only ever been honoured by the main jury in 1979, courtesy of Paul Grimault’s The King and the Mockingbird). Produced by Serge Lalou on behalf of Les Films d’Ici Méditerranée and co-produced by France 3 Cinéma, the Spanish firm Imagic Telecom and film studios Les Films du Poisson Rouge, Lunanime (Belgium), Promenons nous dans les bois, Tchak, Les Fées Spéciales and Effecto, Josep was released in French cinemas by Sophie Dulac Distribution at the end of September and, like Adolescentes, is also sold worldwide by The Party Film Sales.

(Translated from French)