Every month in France-Amérique,
discover the best of French and Francophone culture in the United States.
Analysis of French-American news • French cultural events in the United States • Interviews with leading intellectuals • Fashion tips • Traditional and contemporary recipes • Reports from across the United States • Authors’ perspectives on America • Portraits of artists, entrepreneurs, and other French-American personalities • The best of Francophone literature translated into English • French movies and series in theaters and online • French habits and linguistic subtleties • Unique places to visit in France • And so much more…
May 2022
Hollywood-sur-Mer
For the Cannes Film Festival, held this year from May 17-28, we take you to the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, a legendary palace on the Mediterranean brimming with Hollywood glamor, and we bring you the story of Alice Guy, cinema’s forgotten pioneer: She was the world’s first female filmmaker and spent her life between Paris and New Jersey. Also in this issue, meet the French-Belgian chef at the helm of Fanny’s, the restaurant at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, visit the Galignani bookstore – a mecca for Anglophone readers in Paris – and discover how a business-savvy Frenchman claimed the rights to the smiley 50 years ago.
Featured Articles
ENTREPRENEUR
FRANKLIN LOUFRANI
The French Smiley Emperor
The smiley was born in the United States, but a business-savvy Frenchman claimed the rights to it 50 years ago. Franklin Loufrani and his son Nicolas are now at the head of an international merchandising empire.
HERITAGE
THE EDEN-ROC
A Palace on the Mediterranean
While the tip of the Cap d’Antibes is an exceptional site renowned for its stunning natural setting, it actually owes its reputation to the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, one of the most astonishing palaces on the French Riviera. A regular haunt for stars attending the Cannes Film Festival, held this year from May 17 through 28, it continues to fascinate the Hollywood smart set.
BEYOND THE SEA
ALICE GUY
Cinema’s Forgotten Pioneer
Between 1896 and 1916, Alice Guy directed almost 700 movies, each one adored by increasingly large audiences in France and the United States. But despite the incredible success of her work, she was forgotten from the 1950s onwards. It now seems right to pay tribute to a woman whose only mistake was being ahead of her time.
By Jérôme Kagan
PORTFOLIO
JEANNE DAMAS
All the Women in Her City
She can wear high-waisted jeans and vintage floral-print dresses like no one else, and never leaves the house without a touch of lipstick, which she applies with her fingers. Jeanne Damas, 30, embodies the new generation of Parisian women: trendy, slender, and cultured. An overused cliché, but one which she upholds in order to deconstruct it in a tribute to the women around her. Welcome to her world.
Table of contents
FROM THE NEWSDESK
Mai Sottumesa: Is Corsica Headed for Independence? By Anthony Bulger
COME ON OUT
French Cultural Events in North America. By Tracy Kendrick
EDITORIAL
Democracies Win in the End. By Guy Sorman
INTERVIEW
Michael S. Neiberg: When the U.S. Supported the Vichy Regime. By Guy Sorman
THE OBSERVER
A Slip of the Ear: On Lapalissades, Malapropisms, and Mondegreens. By Anthony Bulger
DIPTYCH ICONS
Mount Vernon, France/Mount Vernon, Virginia. By Clément Thiery
ENTREPRENEURS
The French Smiley Emperors. By Clément Thiery
HERITAGE
The Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc: A Palace on the Mediterranean. By Jean-Gabriel Fredet
PERSPECTIVES
The Demographic Slowdown in France and the United States. By Dominique Mataillet
BEYOND THE SEA
Alice Guy: Cinema’s Forgotten Pioneer. By Jérôme Kagan
ALBERTINE DIARIES
San Diego-Tijuana by Chloé Jarry, Aude-Emilie Judaïque, and Anne-Laure Amilhat-Szary
BON APPÉTIT
Raphaël François: Culinary Director. By Clément Thiery
Recipe: Prime Rib Baked in a Salt Crust
A CANVAS, AN ARTIST
Georges Braque, Studio with Black Vase. By Tracy Kendrick
FRENCH AMERICA
Castroville, Texas. By Anthony Lacoudre
CULTURE
Galignani: A Mecca for Anglophone Readers in Paris. By Jérôme Kagan
PORTFOLIO
Jeanne Damas: All the Women in Her City. By Clément Thiery
ICONIC
Cognac. By Clément Thiery
LITERATURE
Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises: A Tower of Babel in Haute-Marne. By Sophie Joubert
BOOK REVIEW
Camille Kouchner: Facing Down the Hydra. By Sophie Joubert
THE WORDSMITH
Ultracrepidarians, Think You Know Better? By Dominique Mataillet
© Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc
