‘De Gaulle’ Wins Top Prize at American French Film Festival as 30th Anniversary Edition Draws 18,000 Attendees

Antonin Baudry’s two-part World War II epic “De Gaulle” took home the top audience prize at the American French Film Festival in Los Angeles, capping a 30th anniversary edition.

The two-part historical saga, starring Simon Abkarian as the French general and Simon Russell Beale as Winston Churchill, screened back-to-back on Saturday to packed theaters and received a seven-minute standing ovation.

The win marks another boost for the ambitious French production, which is being released in the U.S. by Samuel Goldwyn Films. The first part, “De Gaulle: Resistance” was released over the weekend in theaters across the country and on transactional VOD, while the second part “De Gaulle: Liberty” will come out in early December.

Written by Baudry and Bérénice Vila, the two-part saga charts the French general’s rise during World War II and his epic battle to build a French Resistance movement after France surrendered to Nazi Germany in 1940. Pathé has just sold the film to China where it will be widely released. It’s currently playing in the U.K. where it ranks as this year’s highest grossing French film of 2026.

The 30th anniversary edition, which was spearheaded by its longtime programmer Francois Truffart and deputy director Anouchka Van Riel, drew more than 18,000 attendees, with numerous screenings selling out, including the opening and closing night presentations. The milestone lineup showcased 31 fiction features, 11 series, four documentaries and 14 shorts. Nearly half of the lineup previously played at Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno and Toronto, while 19 titles screened at the L.A.-based festival before their release in France.

Marine Atlan’s coming-of-age drama “La Gradiva” earned the Critics Award for best film, presented in association with the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Written by Atlan and Anne Brouillet, the film marks the directorial debut of Atlan, who is also an acclaimed cinematographer. It world premiered at Cannes’ Critics Week where it won the top honor and garnered stellar reviews; and it went on to win the d’Ornano-Valenti Prize at the Deauville Film Festival. U.S. distribution will be handled by 1-2 Special.

“La Gradiva” follows a group of high school students on a class trip to Naples who are overtaken by surges of desire, anger and despair while exploring the ancient city’s ruins from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. It stars Antonia Buresi alongside newcomers Colas Quignard, Suzanne Gerin and Mitia Capellier-Audat.

Meanwhile, Mélisa Godet’s debut feature “A Place for Her” picked up the First Feature Award. The ensemble drama, which stars Karin Viard and Laetitia Dosch, revolves around a shelter supporting women who have survived violence.

The Documentary Film Award, meanwhile, went to “Whispers in the Woods,” the latest film from acclaimed wildlife photographer and filmmaker Vincent Munier, whose previous credits include “The Velvet Queen.”

“The Green Eyes,” directed by Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh, won the American Students Award. The film, which marks Liatard and Trouilh’s follow-up to “Gagarine,” tells the story of little Chaya, who lives with her family in the Landes region in France. But when they learn they’re being evicted, her older brother Nour falls into a mysterious sleep.

On the television side, “Alice: Pioneer of Cinema,” starring Bérénice Bejo as pioneering French filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché, won the Audience Series Award. The series, directed by Virginie Verrier and Guillaume Lonergan, has also sold to major territories with a U.S. deal in the pipeline.

The Jury Series Award went to “Swapped,” directed by Vania Leturcq and Savina Dellicour.

In the short film competition, Melissa Silveira’s “Diego” won the Audience Short Film Award, while Jocelyn Charles’ animated film “God Is Shy,” featuring the voices of Danièle Evenou, Alba Gaïa Bellugi and Anthony Bajon, earned the Jury Short Film Award.

The awards were announced at the festival’s closing ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 8, following a week of screenings and industry events celebrating French cinema and television.

The American French Film Festival is organized by the Franco-American Cultural Fund, a partnership between the Directors Guild of America, the Motion Picture Association, French music rights organization SACEM and the Writers Guild of America West.