Club Kid takes top jury and audience prizes at Deauville
Jordan Firstman's Club Kid has taken both the Grand Prix and the audience award at the Deauville American Film Festival in France.
It was a double win. The Grand Prix is the festival's top jury prize. The City of Deauville award is voted by the public. Both went to Club Kid in the awards list for the 52nd edition, published on 12 September, as reported by Variety.
Club Kid is Firstman's directorial debut. It had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a rave ovation at its first screening, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Its French premiere followed at Deauville, where it played in Competition, the festival's main line-up of American features, the Festival de Deauville said.
After Cannes, the film travelled to the Telluride Film Festival in the United States on the back of its early festival buzz, Variety reported. A24 is releasing the film. The company had acquired global rights after a bidding war, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
The rest of this year's Deauville prizes were spread across American independent titles. The Critics' Prize went to Tangles, an animated feature directed by Leah Nelson, Variety reported. In the festival's French-language awards list the same film appears under the title Méli-Mélo. Jury honours also went to Tangles and to If I Go Will They Miss Me from Walter Thompson-Hernandez.
The Revelation Prize, which spotlights emerging film-makers, went to Mouse from Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson. The Canal+ Prize went to Test from Sam McConnell, Variety reported.
The 2026 event was the 52nd edition of the Deauville festival in Normandy, which presents American films to French audiences. The Competition line-up included Company from Casey Affleck alongside Club Kid. The jury was presided over by French actor and director Roschdy Zem.
For audiences in France, Deauville is often a first look at American independent films before wider release. For Club Kid, the next step is its release through A24, which handles its worldwide rights.
