The 2011 Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation grant winners

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Paris, January 31, 2012

On 31 January, at the Pompidou Centre in Paris (3^rdarrondissement), the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation held its 22^ndannual awards ceremony to present grants to 14 young professionals who submitted original and innovative projects in the following categories: Documentary Filmmaker, Animation Filmmaker, Digital Creator, Writer, Print Journalist, Bookseller, Musician, Photographer and Film Producer and Television Screenwriter.

Since their creation in 1990, the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation's Talent Grants have been supporting young professionals active in the arts and media by helping them bring their personal projects to fruition. Candidates must be under age 30 (or under age 35 for the Bookseller Grant).

More than financial rewards, these grants serve as a springboard for the young winners' next career phases. The year 2011 saw a number of former Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation grant winners taking the spotlight: Florian Zeller (winner of the 2002 Writer Grant), whose play La Vérité was produced at Théâtre Montparnasse to very favourable reviews from the critics; and Laetitia Gonzalez (winner of the 1996 Film Producer Grant), who - together with Yaëlle Fogiel - won the 2011 Daniel Toscan du Plantier award. His production company Les Films du Poisson has in particular produced L'Arbre by Julie Bertuccelli and Tournée by Mathieu Amalric.

The total amount awarded this year is €260,000.

The 14 winners in 2011

• Documentary Filmmaker Grant (€25,000)

  
  Jérôme Plan, age 28
  

  
  Project: film a documentary in West Africa tracing the steps of Grégoire Ahongbonon, a man who cares for the mentally deficient.
  

• Animation Filmmaker Grant (€30,000)
  Michaël Crouzat, age 27, Denis Do, age 26, and Élise Trinh, age 25
  

  
  Project:Funan, Le Peuple Nouveau, a feature-length animation about the Cambodian civil war.
  

• Digital Designer Grant (€25,000)
  Éloïc Gimenez, age 29
  

  
  Project:Ça Bouge dans l'Air, a meteorological creation giving centre stage to intuitive animation thanks to the exploration of the new possibilities of expression possible with digital technology.
  

• Writer Grant (€25,000)
  Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, age 30
  

  
  Project: write the story of the man who - after many years in exile - returns to his home country, Cuba, to bury his mother.
  

• Writer Grant - special award (€5,000)
  Célia Levi, age 30
  

  
  Project: write the story of a 50-year-old Chinese man whose daily life and deeply held beliefs are disrupted by the arrival of a young American relative.
  

• Print Journalist Grant (€10,000)
  Jordan Pouille, age 30
  

  
  Project: report on the human, economic and ecological consequences of industrial Chinese fishing operations off the coasts of different continents.
  

• Bookseller Grant (€30,000)
  Bruno Ménat, age 27, and Sidonie Mézaize, age 26
  

  
  Project: open a French bookstore in Bucharest to sell high-quality books to local Francophones and Francophiles.
  

• Musician Grant (€25,000)
  Nicolas Dhers, age 29, for the group Stoned Popes
  

  
  Project: record the band's first album.
  

• Photographer Grant (€15,000)
  Elena Chernyshova, age 30
  

  
  Project: photograph daily life in the polar city of Norilsk, both day and night.
  

• Film Producer Grant (€50,000)
  Christophe Barral, age 30
  

  
  Project: create a production company to produce the films of Dominique Baumard, among others.
  

• Television Screenwriter Grant (€20,000)
  Charlotte Sanson, age 31
  

  
  Project: write a 26-minute mosaic series about the coming-of-age experiences of four young girls.
  
  
  

The Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation grant winners are selected by prestigious juries presided over by such high-profile individuals active in the media, the arts and culture as:Philippe Authier(Bookseller Jury),Nils Aziosmanoff(Digital Creator Jury),Pascale Breugnot(Television Screenwriter Jury),Serge Bromberg(Animation Filmmaker Jury),Edmonde Charles-Roux(Writer Jury),Jean-Marie Colombani(Print Journalist Jury),Peter Knapp(Photographer Jury),Pierre Lescure(Film Producer Jury),Olivier Stroh(Documentary Filmmaker Jury),Marc Thonon(Musician Jury).

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