A Woman's Paris ~ Joie de Vivre

By Flore der Agopian

During my childhood, I enjoyed spending many summer vacations in Normandy. We would stay for two months near Deauville, the seaside resort city located in the northwest of France. It was always sad for me to leave at the end of August to go back to school; especially, because I could not attend the Deauville American Film Festival, which takes place every year during the first week of September. Now, to my delight, I am a university student and most French universities begin in mid-September. Last year, for the first time in my life, I was in Deauville at the beginning of the festival. I stayed for only two days, but I was still able to feel the atmosphere of the festival. I wanted to return this year and set aside a few days before starting the new academic year. This time I stayed the entire week in Deauville and rediscovered a city that I knew very well. The film festival absorbed the entire city. The American flag was present on the top of every official hotel, on several buildings, and in every shop window. Streets were filled with people who were reading the official journal of the festival, which included pictures and descriptions of all of the movies that were presented. You could not cross the streets without seeing someone with a festival pass or wearing a journalists’ press pass for “France Television,” as well as other international news media.

The Deauvillois cannot find their “Deauville” immediately after the summer break and have to wait one more week to find the quiet place they live in the rest of the year. However, many Deauvillois enjoy this great opportunity to watch movies in Premiere. I did not see any movies during my week in Deauville, but I often went to the Red Carpet to see what was going on. During those moments, I could easily recognize the Deauvillois by the fact that they knew many people, especially those who were in charge of organizing the event. In order to see the movies presented, people have to buy a pass. There are two different types of passes: one is for the entire week and the other for a single day. With these passes people can attend the Premieres and spend their time among different cinemas: the “Red Carpet” official cinema and the International Center of Deauville where the Premieres were shown. Even though I did not buy a pass, there was much to do inside the festival to fill my week.

This year the festival began on August 30, and I arrived on September 1. I quickly got into the swing of things! A few hours after my arrival, I went for a walk through the city on a sunny Sunday (we cannot say that it is always raining in Normandy!). Every day of festival week the weather was splendid, which is probably why there were so many people outside. On my way back to where I was staying, I went by the luxurious hotel Royal Barrière, one of the two hotels that hosts actors during the festival. There were people gathered in the front entry of the hotel. I did not know exactly what was happening, but when I saw the official cars of the festival I understood that someone was about to leave the hotel for the Red Carpet. I waited a few minutes as the place became crowded with spectators. Then suddenly, Roland Emmerich was in front of me; followed by Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum! I was not expecting to see them at all, so this was a very good surprise. What an impressive sensation to be next to such famous American actors! It would not be the same feeling I would get if I met French celebrities, because I could never imagine that one day I would see an American. The actors signed autographs and took photos with people who had gathered to see them. Then, they got in the car and within twenty seconds they were gone. As soon as the cars left, people ran to be present at the Red Carpet. Their new movie White House Down was shown in Premiere. I did not follow the crowd; I just continued on my way.

The week began very well. In the evening, I watched newscasts on TV. There was an interview with Michael Douglas who was in Deauville for the first two days of the festival. I had just missed him! I was upset, but I knew that the week was not over and that I would see someone else. The next day I rushed to the Normandy, where Nicolas Cage was staying. I knew he would leave in the afternoon for the press conference of his new movie, Joe. Surprisingly, there were not many people waiting for him, but the official cars were there. It took me a few times to understand the strategy and how I might meet someone. The big deal was that there were two exits in the hotels and people never really know from which doors the actors will leave. The cars were the landmarks. While I was waiting, for Nicolas Cage, the cars moved and the journalists followed. As journalists began to run, I knew that I had to move too. I felt pretty ashamed. I have always said that I would never do something like that. I would never do it in Paris, and I can say that it was very funny to do it in Deauville. Perhaps I did because the atmosphere was friendly and everyone seemed to be in the mood. For a few minutes when I’d follow the cars, I felt like I was in the shoes of a journalist. Then, Nicolas Cage came out the hotel. I was close to him, but right then and there, I could not think of a single character that he had performed. Everything went so fast!

Later, I went for a walk on the beach waiting for an actor to come for a photo call. There is a tradition at this festival: each actor who comes to Deauville for a tribute inaugurates a cabin near the beach with his or her name on it. The area with all of the cabins is called “the Planches.” While I was walking near the Planches, I passed the French actor Vincent Lindon, who was this year’s president of the jury. I walked toward the new cabin of Nicolas Cage and noticed that there were many people and a lot of journalists there, but I was unable to see if Nicolas Cage was there too. Even though I didn’t even see him, I still had fun.

Within the crowds of people who would gather, I would always try to see if something was going on but it was very hard. Some people who were standing in the crowd did not even know who was there. The ambiance was casual. Everyone was excited and happy. Even if you do not know anyone around you, it is easy to start a conversation. Later when I strolled along the beach, I could overhear people talking about the actors they saw and the pictures they took. I think this is what characterizes the festival. It is not as famous as the Festival de Cannes and that is probably why this is a friendlier atmosphere—it’s formal, but not too serious. It is easy to be close to celebrities and to talk and take pictures with them because even if there are many people, the festival is not overcrowded. The people who go to Deauville for the festival are mostly cinema lovers (or they are there by chance). Everything is centered around the movies and not nearly as much as the famous people who attend.

After these two first days, I walked along the beach and strolled through the city to enjoy the beautiful weather. But Friday was “Travolta’s day!” I could not imagine missing him for a single second and was back at the festival and waiting for him in front of the Royal Barrière before his press conference for Killing Season. I thought that he would not be accessible to people because of his great career and famous name. Yet, I was very surprised. He was late, but took time for autographs and photographs. We could see that he was happy to be here and that he was thankful to his fans. Everybody next to me was commenting that he was nice. Afterwards, I went to the Planches to see his photo call. Once more John Travolta was very close to people and spent a lot of time on the Planches, stopping for each person who wanted an autograph. In the evening, I went to the Red Carpet, and I saw John Travolta (again!) and many famous French people, including members of the jury. I could not have had a better finish to my week!

As soon as I came back to Paris, I had to see the movie Grease! I have seen it so many times but this last time was different because I had seen the real Danny Zuko! I cannot stop thinking about going back to Deauville next year. Especially, because it will be the 40^th film Festival and sure to be filled with more surprises!

Flore der Agopian was born in Clamart, a southwest suburb of Paris, where she grew up and lives today. She is in the final years of terminale, which is equivalent to the senior year of high school in the U.S., where she is preparing for her Baccalauréat at the Lycée Françoise Rabelais de Meudon. If accepted into the language program, Flore will study history, literature, and the culture of anglophone societies and will hopefully study abroad in the U.S. or Germany.

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Text copyright ©2013 Flore der Agopian. All rights reserved.
Illustrations copyright ©Barbara Redmond. All rights reserved.
barbara@awomansparis.com