Douglas returns to his 'special place'

Michael Douglas is introduced by French actress Ludivine Sagnier at the opening ceremony of the 50th edition of the Deauville Festival of American Cinema Photo: Richard Mowe

Who could have been more appropriate choice to launch the 50th celebrations of the Deauville Festival of American Cinema last night than that enduring icon Michael Douglas who marks his 80th birthday on September 25.

He had a hero’s welcome and a standing ovation as he received his award from French actress Ludivine Sagnier who starred with him on the TV mini-series Franklin, about the US Founding Father Benjamin Franklin who spent eight years in France to secure support for the American Revolution.

The first recipient of the Young Spirit Award - Malia Ann, the daughter of Michelle and Barack Obama Photo: Richard Mowe

Douglas has form with the festival throughout his 55-year career. He recalled that his father Kirk along with Gregory Peck had been one of the first major American stars to support the event in its early years when it was started by the town’s mayor Anne D’Ornano and her husband Michel. The Normandy resort which thrives on such activities as horse-racing and gambling, has a strong attachment for Americans with its close proximity to the scene of the Second World War airborne landings as part of a series of military operations carried out by the Allies and the United States on June 6, 1944.

The festival, over the decades, has welcomed some of the biggest names in Hollywood history, among them Elizabeth Taylor, Cyd Charisse, Rock Hudson, Sean Connery, Lana Turner, Clint Eastwood, Danny Kaye, Yul Brynner, Burt Lancaster, John Travolta, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Sarah Jessica Parker, Morgan Freeman, Joaquin Phoenix, Pierce Brosnan, Ray Liotta, Gena Rowlands, Robert Pattinson and Sharon Stone, who is the subject of a documentary in the line-up. As part of a Deauville tradition each has a beach cabin named after them along the resort’s famous board walk.

Douglas who was welcomed to the red carpet by French star of The Taste Of Things Benoît Magimel (president of this year’s jury), recalled that with his father they had both attended more than a dozen editions in 25 years. His father had received the same life-time achievement award 25 years ago. He assured the adoring crowd that this visit “would not be the last” although he did worry that the festival organisers might be privy to information not known to his own medical team.

Awards night, from left: French actress Ludivine Sagnier, Michael Douglas and Joy and Alexandre Barrière (from the luxury hotels group and a founding partner of the Deauville Festival of American Cinema) Photo: Richard Mowe

He spoke of his attachment to the town which offered two of his favourite things - golf and the serious business of the Casino. He regarded the Hotel Royal on the seafront as a second home with a suite named after him - as well as images from many of his films adorning the walls.

There is an even stronger sentimental attachment to this “very special place” in that he wooed and won the attentions of his wife, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones when they met at the time she was promoting Martin Campbell’s The Mask Of Zorro with Antonio Banderas at the Festival in 1998. They arranged to have a drink together and “the rest is history”.

Besides the award to a veteran the festival also inaugurated the Young Spirit Award whose first recipient Malia Ann, the daughter of Michelle and Barack Obama, was on hand to receive it from the Festival’s new director Aude Hesbert. It was in recognition of her short film The Heart.

With appearances to come from Palme d’Or winner Sean Baker for Anora and Francis Ford Coppola for Megalopolis as well as French premiere for Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice plus awards for actresses Michelle Williams and Natalie Portman and restropectives devoted to directors James Gray and Frederick Wiseman the scene is set for a vintage edition despite the competition for star power from such rival Festivals as Venice and Toronto at the same time of the year. Eagerly anticipated is a visit by a representative of the “new” Hollywood Sebastian Stan who plays a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice, directed by Ali Abbasi, in the filmmaker's English-language film debut.

And if all that was not suffice there is special focus on 50 American films that have changed “our vision of the world” from ET and The Exorcist to The Terminator and Do the Right Thing.

The Festival continues until 15 September.