During his long, storied career as a top communications executive in fashion and beauty, Jérôme Pulis attended international film festivals regularly for more than 15 years, relishing these intense creative gatherings and finding them extremely inspiring.
“Certainly that must have influenced me,” Pulis confessed in an interview this week.
And how.
Only six months after exiting Christian Dior Parfums as its longtime director of international communications and setting up his own agency, dubbed RE7, Pulis founded the Biarritz International Film Festival and is gearing up for its first edition from June 28 to July 2 in the luxurious French resort destination.
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The five-day event — with the subtitle “Nouvelles Vagues” winking to an earlier wave of innovative movies out of France, and the waves surfers ride in Biarritz — bills itself as the first international competition focused solely on “stories of youth.”
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“This festival is an opportunity to give the young generation a festival of its own,” Pulis said. “I find it very interesting and very important to empower the new generation and to listen to what the younger generation has to say. This festival is really there for that.”
In that vein, he noted that all members of the main jury are under age 35, while a second jury is comprised of students from prominent film schools, also all under 35.
“This festival will be a meeting place for new talents, the faces of tomorrow, since all the young actors and actresses are in these films,” Pulis added.
Eight films are to vie for the grand prize, while more than 20 will be screened out of competition. Among the latter getting a premiere will be Sofia Coppola’s “Fairyland,” while the opening film is Tina Satter’s “Reality” starring Sydney Sweeney of “Euphoria” and “White Lotus” fame.
The new festival, enthusiastically endorsed by Biarritz Mayor Maïder Arosteguy, will encompass indoor and outdoor screenings, concerts, photo exhibitions, seminars, opening and closing ceremonies — and a red carpet, too.
While Pulis stressed that film remains the main subject matter, fashion is part of the picture.
To wit: Chanel has signed on as “grand partner,” reigniting historic links with the beachside town and further tightening its ties to the film industry.
Founder Gabrielle Chanel was introduced to the Basque coast in 1915 by her then-boyfriend Arthur “Boy” Capel, and was so taken with its smart and stylish atmosphere that the designer decided to open her first couture house that year in a villa facing the casino.
“Chanel has always had a strong relationship with cinema, and the house is committed to supporting singular and daring cinematographic projects,” said Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion and president of Chanel SAS. “Each of these partnerships is based on close ties with filmmakers, costume designers and actresses close to the house, or linked to our history, and is part of Chanel’s unfailing commitment to supporting creation in all its forms.”
Chanel costumes films, contributes financially to film productions, supports movie restorations and is a partner of several notable events including the Deauville American Film Festival, the Lyon Lumière Festival, the Villa Médicis Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival, and the Busan International Film Festival.
Also supporting the new Biarritz film festival as sponsors alongside Chanel are the City of Biarritz, Canal+, JCDecaux, YouTube, Groupe Clim, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Hair Ritual by Sisley, the French Ministry of Culture, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, Pass Culture and the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’image Animée.
Pulis, who has attended the Cannes Film Festival more than a dozen times for its two-week duration, noted that Biarritz was originally in competition with Cannes for that glittering French gathering, which has become one of the preeminent film events in the world.
Another historic tidbit: French artist Jean Cocteau once organized a festival in Biarritz in 1949 for so-called “damned movies.”
Biarritz is already home to festivals devoted to documentaries and Latin American films.
“But there are no international festivals about youths.…We want a festival that is unlike any other,” Pulis said, noting the upstart event will surely evolve after the first edition.
Already he cited an outpouring of interest from the film industry at large, which is eager to support the next generation of talents — and to entice young generations to return to the cinema in larger numbers.
No doubt filmmakers have noticed the wild popularity of youth-focused series on streaming services such as “Euphoria,” “Wednesday,” “Heartstopper” and “First Kill.”
Films screened in Biarritz needn’t be made by young filmmakers, but must focus on youths, Pulis said, noting that the event would also conform to strong eco convictions, putting bicycles at the disposal of all festivalgoers, while its fleet of Mercedes cars for VIPs would all be electric.
Meanwhile, the seminar portion is designed to impart wisdom and learnings from famous directors, actresses and other film professionals.
Pulis noted the Biarritz festival is an association of volunteers, with all funds from sponsors funneled into mounting the festival, which includes some outdoor screenings and exhibitions open to the public.
Pulis holds the title of president of the festival, with film producer Sandrine Brauer acting as delegate-general and film festival pro Lili Hinstin as programming director.
Other notable contributors are French actress Ana Girardot, who will act as master of ceremonies for the opening event, and Madame Figaro editor Anne-Florence Schmitt.
Pulis accentuated the international nature of the inaugural edition, with films from France, China, the U.S., Italy and Canada in competition. Each features characters between the ages of 12 and 35.
Students from École Boulle, a Paris college of fine arts, crafts and applied arts, designed and produced the festival’s trophy. Six are to be presented.
Meanwhile, Iranian director and screenwriter Saeed Roustaee is president of the jury that includes French actors Lina Koudhri and Dali Benssalah, American actors Camila Morrone and Noah Centineo, plus French dancer and choreographer Léo Walk.
Among talents expected at the festival are Cédric Klapisch, Ludivine Sagnier, Elsa Zylberstein, Cécile Cassel, Arnaud Valois and “Emily in Paris” actors Lucas Bravo and Lucien Laviscount.
During his years working with the likes of L’Oréal, Sonia Rykiel, Vogue and Marie Claire, Biarritz-born Pulis has worked with a number of film greats, including Wong Kar-wai, Jean-Jacques Annaud and David Lynch.
His RE7 agency offers strategic consulting on events, digital, image and brand content.