Variety Toasts French Cinema at Post-Cannes Lapérouse Dinner
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- Variety hosted its fourth post-Cannes summer dinner at Paris's Lapérouse restaurant, bringing together Cannes director Thierry Frémaux, Mediawan boss Pierre-Antoine Capton, MK2's Nathanaël Karmitz, and Pathé's Ardavan Safaee alongside actors Guillaume Canet, Rebecca Zlotowski, and Anamaria Vartolomei.
- Thierry Frémaux marked his 25th year leading the Cannes Film Festival at the dinner, joined by Zlotowski, who originated "La Vénus électrique" (opening night), and Canet, whose Marion Cotillard-starrer "Karma" played out of competition.
- MK2 brought 11 films to Cannes this year and won four prizes, including the Grand Prix for Andrey Zvyagintsev's "Minotaur," the Caméra d'Or for Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo's "Ben'Imana," and the Critics' Week Grand Prix for Marine Atlan's "La Gradiva."
- Mediawan chief Pierre-Antoine Capton, celebrating the company's 10th anniversary, has just finalized the acquisition of North Road, whose current hit "Backrooms" has grossed more than $331 million worldwide.
- Anamaria Vartolomei stars in Pathé's two-part historical epic "De Gaulle," whose first installment premiered in Cannes and has since enjoyed a strong rebound at the French box office.
- The dinner was organized by Elsa Keslassy, Variety's international editor, and held in Lapérouse's intimate L'Astrolabe salon — a 1766 restaurant owned by Émilie and Benjamin Patou and Antoine Arnault, revamped by Dior Maison's Cordelia de Castellane.
Why it matters: The dinner crystallizes the post-Cannes commercial reality: MK2's four-prize Cannes haul and Mediawan's $331M-grossing 'Backrooms' acquisition show French producers winning both critical and box-office power globally, reinforcing Variety's positioning as the U.S. trade outlet with a deep Francophile footprint.
