Talent Grants 2006

On 27 November 2006, at the Petit Palais in Paris, the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation will award its “Talent Grants 2006” to ten young professionals working on innovative projects in the fields of writing, film production, TV script writing, music, bookselling, journalism, photography and digital design. A total of 210,000 euros will be awarded in grants this year.

Established in 1989, the Talent Grants are designed to help young designers and media professionals under the age of 30 (35 for booksellers) to complete a specific project. As well as providing the winners with financial assistance, the Talent Grants represent an important stepping-stone in their careers. Writers Florian Zeller and Yann Moix, and film producer Olivier Delbosc (Jean-Philippe, Anthony Zimmer, L’Avion) are among the 140 professionals who have been awarded grants by the Jean-Lagardère Foundation over the years.

© Dahmane

This year’s winners were selected by several prestigious judging panels, whose members include a number of big names from the world of media, arts and culture, including Edmonde Charles-Roux, (Writing Panel), Pierre Lescure (Film Production Panel), Laurent Joffrin (Journalism Panel), David Burnett (Photography Panel), Jean-Marie Sevestre (Bookselling Panel), Bruno Patino (Digital Design Panel), Stephan Bourdoiseau (Music Panel) and Pascale Breugnot (TV Script Writing Panel). For the first time, the winners of last year’s Talent Grants were invited to sit on the judging panels, offering them a unique opportunity to establish contact with leading professionals in their chosen field.

© Dahmane	Winner of the Digital Design Grant – €25,000 Valentine Duong, 28 Project: developing an innovative programme concept to teach hip-hop steps and moves; the programme will be broadcast on web TV.
© Dahmane	Winner of the Writing Grant – €25,000 Gaspard Koenig, 23 Project: Koenig takes philosophy as the starting point for his story about a university teacher working on philosophical systems for whom one particular system proves too much for his sanity.
© Dahmane	Special Writing Prize – €5,000 Grégoire Polet, 28 Project: Polet explores what it means to be human through a series of short sketches of characters who unwittingly form part of an enormous network that links and binds them together…
© Dahmane	Winner of the Music Grant – €25,000 Fanny Chériaux (Fannytastic), 29 Project: the Music Grant will be awarded to Chériaux for her second album (pop rock melodies).
© Dahmane	Winner of the Film Production Grant – €50,000 Frédéric Jouve, 30 Project: the production of Yuk E, a “film noir” and Arnaud Bigeard’s first feature-length film.
© Dahmane	Winner of the TV Script Writing Grant – €20,000 Christophe Gautry, 30 Project: a script for an animated film based on the legendary Slavic character, Babayaga.
© Dahmane	Winner of the Press Journalism Grant – €10,000 Marie Barraud, 28 Project: an investigation into the commercial rivalry that pits the rice growers of Java in Indonesia against the mass producers of Arkansas in the US.
© Dahmane	Winner of the Booksellers Grant – €30,000 Carole Ohana, 33 Project: young people’s bookstores – “demystifying” the first steps.
© Dahmane	Winner of the Photography Grant – €15,000 Véronique de Viguerie, 28 Project: lifting the veil on the destructive Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan trafficking triangle.
© Dahmane	Special Photography Prize – €5,000 Stéphanie Lacombe, 30 Project: Photographing everyday family meals in France.

Photos of the winners are available on request from the press department