Posted on 28.06.2023

The Lumière festival brings together many artists, and it also brings together professionals who work in cinema, whether classic or contemporary. To this end, three awards are presented each year during the Lumière festival: the Fabienne Vonier Prize, to a woman of the film industry, the Raymond Chirat Prize, to a personality who works in favour of the history of cinema, and the Bernard Chardère Prize, to a personality in the field of writing and publishing.

The previous Raymond Chirat Prize recipients

The Raymond Chirat Prize is presented to a writer-historian-researcher who endeavors to preserve the history of cinema. Pascal Mérigeau, journalist, critic and writer, received the 1st Raymond Chirat Prize in 2011 for his work on Jean Renoir. In 2015, the 2nd Chirat Prize was awarded to the AFRHC (French Association for Research on the History of Cinema) and conferred upon its president, Valérie Vignaux, and co-founder Jean A. Gili. In 2016, the director and film historian Paul Vecchiali received the Prize; in 2017 its laureate was the founder of Wild Side, Manuel Chiche. In 2018, the Prize was presented to film music specialist Stéphane Lerouge, in 2019 to film distributor and  foundor of Carlotta, Vincent Paul-Boncour and in 2021 Gian Luca Farinelli, director of the Cineteca di Bologna and the Il Cinema Ritrovato festival. In 2022, Alain Carradore, video editor, founder of the Westerns de Légende collection,  was the last one to receive the prize en 2021.

About Raymond Chirat

Raymond Chirat  was one of the most cherished and inspiring fellow companions of the Institut Lumière. A historian of French cinema and an author, he founded the Institute Lumière library that bears his name, where one can still find his archives, clippings, hand-written notes and other treasures. He was an insatiable connoisseur with a ferocious passion for the cinema. Chardère especially loved French films; he was a renown, sought-after and esteemed specialist, who counted Patrick Modiano among his many admirers. Born  in 1922, he passed away in 2016.


The Raymond Chirat Prize 2023 will be revealed soon. It will be awarded during the Lumière Festival (October 14-22, 2023).