Editor

US in Progress Paris announced the Jury award of the 2017 Paris edition last Thursday evening. The award, celebrating artistry and innovation in independent American cinema, was presented during the Champs-Élysées Film Festival, hosted by Sophie Dulac in Paris. 

The US in Progress Paris Jury Prize was presented on June 22nd by AFF’s Indie Star Award recipient from 2012 Jerry Schatzberg to Wild Nights with Emily, directed by Madeleine Olnek, a comedy about the little-known relationships of poetess Emily Dickinson. The prize includes a post-production and promotion  package worth 40,000€ plus a co-production investment offer.

The ceremony was the culmination of the 2017 work-in-progress event  which presented 3 feature-length narratives and 2 feature-length documentaries, selected from over 55 submissions  to European sales agents, distributors and festival programmers.

- Human Affairs by Charlie Birns

- Wild Nights with Emily by Madeleine Olnek

- The Pervert by Jack Dunphy and Nathan Silver

- The Rainbow Experiment by Christina Kallas

- About a Mountain by Lily Henderson

The jury was formed by Sophie Frilley (Titra Film), Oliver Van Den Broeck from The Searcher (Europa Distribution), Julie Bergeron (Producers Network), Xenia Maingot (Eaux Vives Productions), Myriam Achard (Centre Phi) and our new partners, from Paris Simone Appleby (Cosmodigital), Sweden: Pär and Karl Frid (Frid & Frid Studio) and the US Todd Remis (Salem Street Entertainment) and David Moscow (UnLtd Productions).

At the same time in Los Angeles, alumni of the 2016 US in Progress Pete Ohs and Andrea Sisson’s Everything Beautiful is Far Away won the U.S. Fiction Cinematography Award, while 20 Weeks directed by Leena Pendharkar made its world premiere and played to positive reviews.

The Fall edition, in the frame of the American Film Festival will be held in Wroclaw from October 25 – 28th. The submissions are now open till August 15th at www.americanfilmfestival.pl