Deauville's Industry Days Unveils 2026 Lineup: Food Styling, French Financing, and a Netflix Case Study
The 52nd Deauville American Film Festival has revealed the full programme for its Industry Days sidebar, a two-day strand of talks and panels running within the festival's September 4–13 dates. Variety published the lineup on August 24.
The sessions read like a practical guide to cross-Atlantic film-making. One panel, "The Art and Craft of Foodstyling," covers the design of on-screen gastronomy for television and film, featuring the Paris-based studio Wallace Food Stylist — the agency behind the culinary looks of the Netflix series Emily in Paris. Another, "How to Break in the U.S. as a French Actor," brings together casting director Mathilde Snodgrass, actress Mathilde Ollivier, and talent agent Raphaelle Danglard.
A two-part session called "How to Maximize Your Award Campaign in the U.S." splits its focus between live-action and animation. The first part features DDA's Carola Ash, Sébastien Cauchon of Cinema Collectors, and David Thion of Les Films Pelleas. The second is led by Benoit Berthe Siward, CEO of The Animation Showcase. On the financing side, CNC's Joanna Verner and Celine Leclercq anchor a panel on French tax rebate opportunities for international productions, titled "The Financing Schemes in France."
A standout session, "A U.S. Production Shot in France," uses a concrete example: Netflix's romantic comedy Champagne Problems, written by Mark Steven Johnson and starring Minka Kelly and Tom Wozniczka. Produced by David Atrakchi and Boris Mendza, the film shot in France in 2024, and the panel will explore the mechanics of mounting an American production on French soil.
Beyond the industry programme, the festival's 2026 honourees span generations of American cinema. Brendan Fraser, Ethan Hawke, Faye Dunaway, Susan Sarandon, Sophie Thatcher, and Patrick Schwarzenegger will all receive awards. Sarandon is also named "Deauville Icon" for the edition, according to the festival's official site. Catherine Deneuve curates a carte blanche series titled "My American Cinema," and the Institut national de l'audiovisuel (INA) will award its Distinction numérique to actor-filmmaker Roschdy Zem, the festival announced on August 20.
For the international film community, the Industry Days sessions offer a rare blend of granular craft and hard deal structure — the tax rebates, the casting channels, the awards machinery — compressed into two days on the Normandy coast. The festival itself, now in its 52nd edition, has long served as a bridge between American cinema and European audiences and professionals, and the 2026 industry programme leans squarely into that role.
