Global Showbiz Briefs: Deauville Fest Sets Pair Of Prizes; Universal Pics Int’l Entertainment; Smithsonian Channel; More

Deauville Fest Taps ‘Les Garcons Et Guillaume’ For D’Ornano Prize
The Deauville Festival of American Film has announced Les Garçons Et Guillaume A Table! as the winner of this year’s Michel d’Ornano prize, which will be awarded during the festival on September 7. The d’Ornano prize is given to a debut French film and comes with a purse of €3,000 for the director – in this case Guillaume Gallienne — €3,000 for the producer and €10,000 for the distributor to use in promoting the film. (Full disclosure, I am a member of the jury that selects the winner.) Les Garçons debuted in Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, where it scooped the Art Cinema award and the SACD prize. Gallienne also wrote the film, a transfer of his autobiographical stage show about a young man who isn’t exactly what his family perceives him to be. Deauville, which runs from August 30-September 8, also announced that Richard Ford will be given the Prix Littéraire Lucien Barrière for his novel Canada.

Roberto Paris Tops UPIE’s Italian Operation
Universal Pictures International Entertainment has hired former Sony Pictures Home Entertainment exec Roberto Paris to lead its Italian operations as managing director. Paris will assume his new role on August 1. The nine-year Sony vet most recently was country manager and managing director for SPHE Italy. Last month, Universal and Sony announced they had reached an agreement to distribute SPHE’s physical home entertainment product slate through the UPIE operation in Italy, starting in October. Universal Pictures Italy have also distributed Paramount home entertainment product since 2011. (more…)