Jury President

Charles Nemes started writing and directing for cinema in 1974 with short films, along with his friends from Le Splendid, a famous French café-théâtre company. In the course of his eight full-length features, two soap operas, two series and eight television films, he never really chose between comedy and drama. He jumped from tragic (theme evening about Primo Levi on Arte TV channel) to burlesque (French film “La tour Montparnasse infernale”) to melodrama (French miniseries “La Clef des Champs”) to comedy (“H” series, “Le Carton”, “Le Séminaire-Caméra Café” and “Hotel Normandy” films) and from serious (“Louvre, la visite” and Maigret) to less serious (“Heroes are not wet behind the ears”, “La fiancée qui venait du froid”, “Au bistro du coin”). He’s the screenwriter of all his first films. He also writes for television when he’s not watching it, and publishes novels when he’s not shooting films.

Nicolas Vannier is a French cinema and television producer. Alain and Danielle Vannier have been directing the Orly Films company since 1962. A company dedicated to producing, distributing and internationally selling films directed by the best foreign and French screenwriters, from Claude Miller to François Truffaut, Claude Berri, Alain Corneau, Roman Polanski, Wong Kar Wai, Bertrand Blier, Claude Sautet... The eclectism of the catalogue is due to their curiosity and their appetite for encounters and friendship, which enabled Orly Films to be associated with films like “The little thief”, “Indochine” or “In the mood for love”... Lately, Nicolas Vannier has developed genre films such as “Le pharmacien de garde” by Jean Veber, or “Le ciel, les oiseaux et... ta mère !”, Djamel Bensalah’s first film starring Jamel Debbouze. These days he’s working on international television projects with “Ratcatcher” (USA) and “Crystal Clear Content” (UK).

For many years she’s been dedicating her work to social issues, namely through her articles and publications: education, women, seniors, disabled people... in other words, humans! In these areas, her work and her activism often merge and fill her life with thrilling encounters and battles. She’s currently committed to working with (and not “on”) year 9 pupils of a so-called “difficult” school with the idea of making a film about differences and resemblances. In 2012 she wrote “Lettre à Zohra D.” (“Letter to Zohra D.”, published by Flammarion): in a letter to “her” bomber, she tells her story and how it’s linked to the history of the Algerian War, and how she dealt with the disability that ensued. Once and for all, in her work and her life, she chose to only see the glass half full... In a very full life!

Actor, director, screenwriter, Pierre-Loup Rajot is also a producer, editor and distributor, as well as the father of three children! As a passionate, he advances in cinema through encounters, such as his meeting with Laurent Pialat in 1983 via casting director Dominique Besnehard. In “À nos amours”, Pialat gave him a role that would prove to be significant for his career. As well as acting for cinema, theatre and television (“R.I.S. Police scientifique”), Pierre-Loup Rajot is also a producer. He founded the C.A.L.M. “Comme à la maison” society, which produces and distributes films such as “Ceci est mon corps” by Jérôme Soubeyrand, a film that won multiple awards, namely the people’s choice award at the Journées Henri Langlois and was the jury’s favourite at the Festival du Film Francophone of Angoulême (2016). He’s currently working on Jean Marboeuf’s next film “Wanda et le dragon” starring Bulle Ogier, Michel Bouquet, François Morel… (2017).

Jean-Louis Langlois became a lawyer at the Barreau de Paris in 1972, where he vigorously distinguished himself until 2015, specialising himself in literary and artistic property in particular. His long career enabled him to come close to the world of cinema, theatre and artistic creation, of which he defended the rights before actually joining it. Cinema is a family matter for Jean-Louis Langlois since his uncle, the famous Henri Langlois, dedicated his life to it. Founder of the Cinémathèque Française, Henri Langlois enabled numerous filmmakers and aficionados to “let films come to mind” in his own words. In this particular spirit, as president of the Henri-Langlois Prize, Jean-Louis Langlois founded in 2005 the Rencontres internationales du cinéma de patrimoine. The goal of this event is to preserve and promote our cinematographic patrimony... so that no film ever goes to die.

Belgian actor Pascal Duquenne was born on August 8, 1970 in Vilvorde. He has Down syndrome and is famous for having played the role of a young man afflicted with that same disability in the film “The eighth day” by Jaco Van Dormael, for which he was awarded the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Joseph-Plateau Prize of the Flanders International Film Festival Ghent in 1996. In 2004, Albert II of Belgium named him Commander of the Order of the Crown.

Considering the very particular handicap of her daughter and the lack of adapted structures, she had to assume his education and her support most of the time only with her husband. Her fight of mom she pursues it for more than 20 years within the FRENCH FEDERATION SESAME AUTISM of which she is the current president to help and defend the people with autism and their families. Rewarded with a golden medal from the academy of medicine, she’s present in the national authorities, founding member of Autism Europe, she represent today more than 75 establishments and services on the whole territory and about 2.000 employees and 3.000 members.