The 2009 Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation Talent Grant winners

Since their creation in 1990, the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation’s Talent Grants have been supporting young professionals active in culture and the media by helping them bring their personal projects to fruition. Candidates must be under age 30 (or under age 35 for the Bookseller Grant). More than financial rewards, these grants serve as a true springboard for the young winners’ next career phases. For example, 2006 Special Award and Photographer Grant winner Stéphanie Lacombe went on to win the prestigious Niépce Prize.

Spotlight on the 2009 awards ceremony
This evening at Paris’ Pompidou Centre, the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation is holding its 20th annual awards ceremony to present Talent Grants to 12 young professionals active in culture and the media, all of whom submitted innovative, original projects in the following categories: Writer, Film Producer, Television Screenwriter, Musician, Bookseller, Print Journalist, Photographer, Documentary Filmmaker, Animation Filmmaker and Digital Artist.

The total amount awarded this year is €265,000.

The 12 2009 winners

• Documentary Filmmaker Grant – €25,000
  Alice Diop – age 30
  Project: to show the process of social evolution through the career path taken by Steeve.
• Animation Filmmaker Grant – €30,000
  Léo Verrier – age 26
  Project: to complete his first animated short film.
• Digital Artist Grant – €25,000
  Marie-Julie Bourgeois – age 28
  Project: to complete Extension Parallèle, an interactive installation that traces the sun’s path.
• Writer Grant – €25,000
  Gilbert Gatore – age 29
  Project: to write a second novel.
• Print Journalist Grant – €10,000
  Léna Mauger – age 26
  Project: to recount the fall of Japan’s Toyota City after the financial crisis.
• Bookseller Grant – €30,000
  Jean Pichinoty – age 32
  Project: to expand his bookshop and develop events dedicated to books and authors.
• Musician Grant – €25,000
  Alexandra Grimal – age 29
  Project: to record an album with three exceptional jazz musicians: Lee Konitz, Paul Motian and Gary Peacock.
  Special Award – €10,000
  Pauline de Lassus – age 26
  Project: to record her first solo album.
• Photographer Grant – €15,000
  Julien Goldstein – age 30
  Project: to compile exhaustive coverage of the situation in Kurdistan.
• Film Producer Grant – €50,000
  Jean Klotz – age 29
  Project: to produce a film by Claire Burger and Marie Amachoukeli, among others.
• Television Screenwriter Grant – €20,000
  Camille de Castelnau and David Coujard – age 30
  Project: to write an historical saga, to be titled Harem and set in the 16th-century Ottoman Empire.

The Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation’s grant winners are selected by prestigious juries presided over by such high-profile figures in the media, arts and culture as Olivier Stroh (Documentary Filmmaker jury), Serge Bromberg (Animation Filmmaker jury), Nils Aziosmanoff (Digital Artist jury), Edmonde Charles-Roux (Writer jury), Alain Louyot (Print Journalist jury), Philippe Authier (Bookseller jury), Marc Thonon (Musician jury), Peter Knapp (Photographer jury), Pierre Lescure (Film Producer jury) and Pascale Breugnot (Television Screenwriter jury).

Photos of the winners are available from the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation.

Submissions for the 2010 competition will be accepted as of spring 2010 via the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation’s website: www.fondation-jeanluclagardere.com.