The first awards ceremony held by the Global Cinematheque organization, which seeks to promote world cinema in the USA, took place on Monday, February 10, at the residence of the French Consul in Los Angeles, the day after the 2020 Oscars awards ceremony.
During a reception held at the French Consulate in Los Angeles in honor of the French films nominated at the 2020 Oscars, two films received a number of prizes at the first-ever edition of the Global Cinematheque Awards: I Lost My Body and Portrait of a Lady on Fire (both of which were nominated for Oscars alongside the winning film Parasite).
French films honored at the awards ceremony:
- Best Actress: Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant (tied) for Portrait of a Lady on Fire by Céline Sciamma
- Best Global Animation: I Lost My Body by Jérémy Clapin
- Spotlight Award - Craft: Cinematographer Claire Mathon for Atlantics: A Ghost Love Story & Portrait of a Lady on Fire
- Spotlight Award - Discovery: Mati Diop for Atlantics: A Ghost Love Story
Unifrance was also honored at the event with the presentation of the Cultural Spotlight Award by the founders of the Global Cinematheque Awards, Jacqueline Lyanga and Jasmine Jaisinghani. This award acknowledges UniFrance for the association's "seventy years of extraordinary work promoting French cinema around the world." Jacqueline Lyanga highlighted the role of French cinema as "a veritable cultural exception that has exerted its influence throughout the world thanks to the cultural policies created by UniFrance."
The award was accepted by UniFrance president Serge Toubiana and our executive director Daniela Elstner, who stated that it "fits perfectly into our main goal: helping all of you to become global, pushing borders, bringing diverse stories to the public all over the world." She added that "Collectively and through our films, we are working on a better understanding of the world today, and this award adds one piece to that."
See the complete awards list on the official website of the Global Cinematheque Awards.
