Flashback: Clint at the Lumière Grand Lyon Film Festival 2009

Whist we have already covered the festival poster on a previous page of the Archive, I thought it would be nice to have a dedicated page for this event. I had some 20+ images sitting in a folder so decided to put them to good use. The festival took place between the 13th and 18th of October 2009 in Lyon, France. The festival is named in honour of the Lumière Brothers, who invented the Cinematography in Lyon in 1895, and is organised by the Institute Lumière.

The festival focuses on the history of cinema with the line-up dedicated to the works of the past through restored prints, retrospectives and tributes. The Lumière Award (Prix Lumière), an award that recognises the achievement and contributions of an international film personality, is also presented annually at the festival. In 2009, Clint was invited as the guest of honour and as recipient of the award.   

Below: Clint during a rooftop photo shoot with director Bertrand Tavernier.

Below: Clint Eastwood receives a Jeroboam of the Famous French Wine Cote Rotie before a screening of The Bridges of Madison County on October 18^th.

Clint stands, smiling, in front of nearly 3,000 spectators and receives a standing ovation in the main hall of the Lyon Convention Centre. He is the first winner of the Lumière Prize, created by Thierry Frémaux and Bertrand Tavernier for his entire career and his links with the history of cinema. Actresses Marthe Keller and Cécile de France were also on stage with Clint. Both actresses were appearing in Clint’s 2009 film Hereafter. Clint was filming Hereafter in Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France on the 19^th October directly after the festival. He also shot some scenes in the capital city of Paris.