By now it is abundantly clear that New Yorkers are more than a little in love with the French and French culture. And with Bastille Day coming on Wednesday, July 14, the amour fou is just getting "fouer". Those ready for a New York dose of haute cuisine and cinema francais can get their fill at this week's Cinemonde program. Cinemonde is an initiative by Jerome Rudes of Mistral Artist Management to bring quality cinema to New Yorkers, who can feast on delicacies and dr...

Wednesday, June 25-------Jerry Rudes is a man on a mission. For the past quarter century, he has lived with one foot in New York and the other in the lovely Provence city of Avignon, France. Reflecting his own dual domiciles, he founded the Avignon Film Festival in 1984 as a “transatlantic crossroads of independent cinema”. When asked to comment on his original inspiration for founding the event, Rudes told of a memorable encounter with filmmaker Agnès Varda. “When I first went to Cannes ...

The 23rd Avignon Film Festival came to a close last Sunday 25th June 2006. At the final awards ceremony, which took place at the Museum of the Petit Palais with special guests Marie-Josée Roig, mayor of Avignon, filmmakers Jean-François Stevenin and Laszló Szabó, and almost all of the directors of the movies in competition, the 2006 Jury announced this year¹s winners.Prix Tournage for the Best American Movie: THE CALL OF CTHULHU by Andrew Leman and Sean Branney (USA)Prix Tournage for the...