‘Radiostars’ Wins Grand Prize at Alpe D’Huez Comedy Festival

The public event, open to all cinephiles on skis, highlights new French comedies before they open in the territory giving distributors an idea of the response at home. Several successful French titles including Gaul’s current box office champion Welcome to the Sticks had their start at the fest before going on to conquer the rest of the country.

While it always runs during the same time as another snowy festival in Park City, the Alpe D’Huez fest has become popular among both audiences and talents who flock there to enjoy a winter week of laugh on the slopes. Lellouche’s jury featured an A-list Gallic cast incuding actresses Muriel Robin, Virginie Efira, Alice Taglioni and actors Jean-Paul Rouve and Clement Sibony.

Levy’s Radiostars stars comedians Manu Payet, who voiced Po the panda in France’s version of Kung Fu Panda 2, alongside Clovis Cornillac, Douglas Attal and an emsemble of popular French actors in a road movie about Parisian radio stars who travel throughout France on a bus to try and win back their morning audience. The film also won the “Prize of the Profession” sponsored by LVT and Digimage Cinema whose jury included director Christophe Barratier, Eskwad’s producer Frederic Doniguian, journalist Jean-Philippe Guerand and Wild Bunch’s technical director Charles Vannier.

Ken Scott’s Canadian title Starbuck won a special jury prize and the film’s star Patrick Huard was named best actor for his role in the movie. 

Europe 1 radio’s audience award went to Geoffrey Enthoven’s Belgian film Hasta la vista about three twentysomething virgins who head to Spain looking for their first sexual experiences. The Alpe d’Huez comedy festival ran from Jan. 17-22.