The hidden pleasures of Deauville American Film Festival

Nestled among the picturesque seaside towns on the north coast of the north of France is a placeless place called Deauville.

The chocolate box suburbs, about two hours away from Paris, is not a normal beach in Normandy – for nine days of the year, it is the beating heart of American culture in the most unforeseen places.

Here, Us Flags Hang Proudly Outside Every Shop and Restaurant, Gaggles of Fans Wait outside the Luxurious Five-Star The Barrière Le Normandy Deauville Hoping to Catch a Glimpese of Pamela Anderson (One of this Year’s Honorary Haircuts), and Names Such as Clint Eastwood, George Clooney, Sharon Stone and Nicole Kidman Line the Town’s Notorious Boardwalk, Adorned with the Hungs of Stars celebrated in the past 50 years. Forget Cannes, Venice or Tiff: this is the Deauville American Film Festival, and it is the most chic event on the calendar.

Below, The Hollywood Reporter reveals five protruding facts of this year’s edition; The hidden pleasures of a party that you did not know existed.

1. Dinner with the biggest American stars

“I am not going and will never feed public relations cascades – it would be a death sentence,” said Pamela Anderson on the main scene of the festival, the Deauville Convention Center. The naked pistol The actress referred to recent rumors about her relationship with the Co-Star Liam Neeson while winning the Deauville Talent Award, also awarded to the Australian actor Joel Edgerton this year.

“I am authentically motivated. I am superstitious with regard to love, and I am not comfortable sharing a shredder Baywatch The alum continued. “I know that I will fall in love again and again on the screen … [But] Do not confuse my kindness with a weakness or my audacity for bitterness. »»

This type of franchise is only possible in an intimate festival like Deauville. Anderson was the image of glamor in a black dress without adjusted straps, lighting the piece of the post-ceremony gala. She could be seen sitting in the center of the room while the tables around him were supplied with unlimited bottles of the most beautiful champagne and France wine. A meal of three dishes was provided to customers of the luxury location, the barrier deauville casino, draped with red velvet and imposing candles.

After Anderson’s speech came the opening evening film: Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin’s Marriage Comedy Splitsville With Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona. The co-authors circulated the casino, lining up a wave of congratulations of writers, producers and filmmakers who have formed the list of exclusive guests. The Iranian-French actress Golshifteh Farahani, at the top of this year’s jury, was also present to receive the digital distinction prize.

2. Stay in the most fashionable hotels in France

Beat the jet lag and make a stop in Paris at the Fouquet of a five-star hotel, right next to the world’s world renowned shopping avenue, the Champs-Élysées. A few minutes from the Arc de Triomphe, the hotel is recognized as a cultural hot spot in the city of love: a historic monument since 1990 where recent guests have included Quentin Tarantino, Jodie Foster, Sean Penn and Brad Pitt.

The elegant design of each room is a match for the neighboring facilities of the hotel: a sauna, a hammam and a lagoon style swimming pool make up the spa, and the famous brasserie fouquet is right next to it, offering a taste of the best food in the city. The Signature Le Joy and Speakeasy Le Marta at the bottom restaurant provide fashionable alternatives.

Once Deauville appeared, there are a multitude of options to consider, but perhaps nothing makes its rival the Barrière hotel Normandie Deauville, where many celebrities have created a camp for the Festival race. Described by the architect Théo Petit as having “a charm of Anglo-Norman chalet”, the building is looming above the seafront, each of its 269 rooms decorated with a single sense of country class.

The Diane Barrière spa offers all possible treatments to keep a relaxed throughout the festival and the restaurant of the hotel La Belle Époque serves fresh seafood alongside traditional French cuisine. The Normandy bar, in a library style, provides some of the best cocktails in Deauville, but there is much more than that: the Hotel Barrière Hôtel du Golf and the Hotel Barrière Le Royal are a few minutes walk, the old Vanante Padel, Tennis and, in progress, 18 picturesque golf holes through an expansive course.

3. Take advantage of powerful American cinema

You may have guessed from the name, but this festival celebrates the relationship between French and American culture – and how cinema is at the intersection. Splitsville Launched the festival but it is not the only American production of Cannes to also project in Deauville: Richard Linklater New waveemblematic of the best of French American cinema, follows the production of Jean-Luc Godard of his 1960 film Breathless.

Kelly Reichardt The brainWith Josh O’Connor as an amateur art thief in the Massachusetts of the 70s, also struck the film festival, alongside the beginnings of director of Kristen Stewart Water chronologyScarlett Johansson’s first round in the filmmaker’s chair Eleanor the Great and Joshua Oppenheimer’s dystopian musical The end. Among the more buzzing titles, there was the most recent functionality of Yorgos Lanthimos on the Venice carpet: Bugonia With Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons.

And it was not only Anderson or Edgerton at the reception of great honors. New wave Star Zoey Deutsch won the Hollywood Rising Star Award of the Fest. But Kim Novak shone the most brilliant by accepting the Icon Prix de Deauville. The event projected the greatest successes of 92 years, including Alfred Hitchcock Vertigo (1958) and Richard Quine Bell, book and candle (1958). “Far from the female stereotypes shaped by industry, she affirmed her individuality through a style of raw and instinctive performance,” said the festival about the actress who has become Novak. “For a long time, misunderstood by criticism, her work body is now recognized as that of a daring and avant-garde actress.” In a rare public appearance, Novak went to the stage of Deauville with the French choreographer Benjamin Millepied to accept honor.

4. Sow for an emblematic beach stroll

The flat sandy beach of Deauville is packed with brightly colored umbrellas, a bottle service by the beach and local swimmers, but there is another experience to check before leaving and it is a walk at sunset.

There is no shortage of beautiful horses here: the city is famous for its races and polo games and, for 160 years, welcomed the biggest events in Europe at the Deauville-La Touques racecourse. Huge names come to watch the best horses, jockeys and coaches in a myriad of events, solidifying the countryside in and around Deauville as the main farm in France.

Nearby, in one of the many pits in the region, you can claim your own horse and walk soft along the sand. This is a view you get used to: visitors, some guests from the film festival, trying to get the perfect selfie at the top of the horses while the sun sets on Deauville.

5. Buy and eat celebrity hotspots

Far from the promenade are rows of creative stores for those who are inclined to make follies. The Luxury Spring Luxury Store Voisins The Barrière Hotel in Normandy, but there is more where it comes from: Louis Vuitton, Longchamp, Dior and Hermès are only some of the labels easily available at any time. For the options for the budget, the Deauville market opens a Saturday under the outdoor and half-past rooms at the market location where tourists are invited to collect jewelry, clothes, bags, art and furniture, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables.

For lunch and dinner, the sea beach bar is a must in Deauville American Film Festival. The restaurant opened in 1948 and continued to serve as chic coastal wind paradise. The protruding facts of the menu include linguine with clams, lobster rolls and molds served in a variety of sauces – white wine, creamy, provençal or with a camembert vinaigrette, as well as ice cream, churros or pancakes for dessert. Right next to it is the Italian Ciro place, renovated only last year. In 2025, Air France chose the CIROs as a place for a sumptuous dinner with the largest talent of the festival (the French superstar Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu was among those organized), which nestled in grilled white fish and dressed vegetables.

The Deauville 2025 American Film Festival takes place until Sunday.