Club Kid takes Deauville’s top prize and its audience award
Jordan Firstman’s film leaves the American film festival with a double win, while the official prize list offers French release dates to watch.
Club Kid has won both the Grand Prix and the audience award at the 52nd Deauville American Film Festival. The organisers announced the results on 12 September, ahead of the festival’s final day on 13 September. Jordan Firstman’s film is scheduled to reach French cinemas on 4 November, according to the official prize list.
The two awards represent different constituencies: the main jury, chaired by Roschdy Zem, and the festival audience. Their agreement makes Club Kid an obvious starting point for readers exploring the results, although neither distinction predicts a film’s commercial performance or how an individual viewer will respond.
A double win, not a box-office forecast
In its coverage of the awards, Souffle Inédit describes Firstman’s first feature as the story of a New York party organiser whose life changes when he discovers he has a ten-year-old son. Firstman also writes and stars in the film. This is a reported synopsis, not a WHIF review based on a screening.
The jury shared its secondary prize between Leah Nelson’s Méli-Mélo and Walter Thompson-Hernández’s If I Go Will They Miss Me. Méli-Mélo also received the critics’ award. Souffle Inédit identifies it as an animated adaptation of Sarah Leavitt’s autobiographical graphic novel about her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease.
When French audiences can see the winners
For French audiences, the announced release calendar extends into next year: If I Go Will They Miss Me is listed for 6 January 2027 and Méli-Mélo for 20 January. Mouse, directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, received the Revelation award. These distinctions should not be confused with the main Grand Prix.
The festival’s programme comprised 80 films across nine sections, with 13 titles competing for the main jury’s awards. The completed festival and the later theatrical releases are separate events. Check cinema listings nearer the announced dates, rather than treating the prize announcement as confirmation that every winner is already showing locally.
Sources & context
Reporting and reference material used for this article. Context sources do not independently confirm every news claim.
- Deauville American Film Festival: 2026 awards ↗Primary organiser record: winners and announced French release dates
- Souffle Inédit: Deauville 2026 prize coverage ↗Independent arts reporting: awards and film background
- Deauville American Film Festival: programme ↗Organiser context: festival dates and programme scope; same organisation as the award list
Written for WHIF from the linked material. This article does not claim on-the-ground reporting. Our editorial standards.