A double victory for Ryan

First time director scores in Deauville.

by Richard Mowe

The director of Fruitvale Station Ryan Coogler scores twice over at the Deauville Festival of American Cinema.
The director of Fruitvale Station Ryan Coogler scores twice over at the Deauville Festival of American Cinema.

The American director Ryan Coogler has received two awards for his film Fruitvale Station at the closing ceremony of the American Film Festival in Deauville.

He received the Cartier Revelation Prize and also the audience award last night (Saturday 7 September). The Cartier Revelation Jury comprised Valérie Donzelli (president), and jury members Laurence Arné, Vincent Lacoste, Géraldine Maillet and Woodkid.

It is Coogler's first feature-length film and is based on the true story of Oscar Grant, a young man who was killed by police officer Johannes Mehserle at a train station in Oakland, California and which became a cause celebre.

The president of the feature films jury of the 39th edition of the festival, Vincent Lindon, awarded the top prize, the grand prix to Night Moves by Kelly Reichardt. This Oregon-set environmental thriller stars Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning and Peter Sarsgaard. It is due to have its North-American premiere at Toronto today (Sunday).

The jury prize was shared by All Is Lost by J.C. Chandor (a tour de force for Robert Redford as a lone sailor) and Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors by Sam Fleischner, about an Mexican-American teenager with autism.

The International Critics’ prize, chosen by select international journalists, has been awarded to The Retrieval by Chris Eska, a dark Civil War period drama about a 13-year-old boy named Will (Ashton Sanders) and his caretaker Marcus (Keston John) on assignment from a bounty hunter.

Other prizes include the Lucien Barrière Literary Award which has been bestowed on Richard Ford for his novel Canada.

The Michel D’Ornano prize for the best French film of the year has gone to Me, Myself And Mum / Les Garçons Et Guillaume, à Table by and with Guillaume Gallienne who received a standing ovation at the screening earlier today..

Share this with others on...
News

The division belle Suzannah Herbert on facing the US' troubled history and making Natchez

Spin-off alchemy Claude Schmitz on bringing back cop pairing for Conrad & Crab – Idiotic Gems

Past crime Christoffer Boe on creating a world for his period mystery Special Unit - The First Murder

The hidden river Helen MacDonald and Philippa Lowthorpe on adapting H Is For Hawk

This wild channel David Shadrack Smith and Jake Fogelnest on the content creation revolution and Public Access

Sundance announces winners Josephine, Nuisance Bear, Shame And Money and To Hold A Mountain take top prizes

More news and features

Interact

As we move into 2026, don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.

With awards season in full flow, you can keep track of the latest news on that here:

César nominations Nouvelle Vague leads the race for France's biggest awards

BAFTA nominations One Battle After Another and Sinners almost neck and neck

Golden Eddies Nominations for editing brilliance announced

OFCS Awards One Battle After Another triumphs; Sinners dominates