Antoine Chauvin-Estène, CEO Groupe Belles Rives, Marianne Estène-Chauvin, President of the Francis Scott Fitzgerald Academy and owner of Belles Rives Group, and the 2023 Prix Fitzgerald winner Quentin Tarantino. (Photo by Jacopo M. Raule/Getty Images for Belles Rives Group)
Prix Fitzgerald 2023 Laureate Announced At Hôtel Belles Rives: Quentin Tarantino Accepts 12Th Annual Literary Award For Cinema Speculation
During an unforgettable ceremony held on June 9, 2023, Hôtel Belles Rives in Juan-les-Pins on the French Riviera, jury members of the 2023 Prix Fitzgerald, a French literary award created in 2011 by Marianne Estène-Chauvin, President of the Francis Scott Fitzgerald Academy and owner of Belles Rives Group, announced today this year’s laureate. The long-awaited first work of nonfiction from the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino accepted the prize for Cinema Speculation, published by HarperCollins in the United States and Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2022 and French publishing house, Flammarion on March 22, 2023.
Every year in June, the Hôtel Belles Rives hosts the Prix Fitzgerald, which honors a novel or short story that reflects the elegance, spirit, and art of living embodied by the American writer, and adopted son of the French Riviera, Francis Scott Fitzgerald. This year’s nominees included Manuel Vilas, Antoine Wilson, Joyce Carol Oates, Gabriel Byrne, and Domenico Starnone and Quentin Tarantino who became this year’s winner for Cinema Speculation. Tarantino accepted the recognition with a speech held on the terrace overlooking the splendor of iconic Cap d’Antibes. This is the first prize for Cinema Speculation.
“I am honored that this illustrious jury has selected my second book, Cinema Speculation, for such a prestigious prize,” said Tarantino. “I am humbled to receive the Prix Fitzgerald at this iconic hotel, and in such a magnificent setting.”
2023 Prix Fitzgerald winner Quentin Tarantino. (Photo by Jacopo M. Raule/Getty Images for Belles Rives Group)
Flammarion provides a synopsis of the book, “In addition to being among the most celebrated of contemporary filmmakers, Tarantino is possibly the most joyously infectious movie lover alive. For years he has touted in interviews his eventual turn to writing books about films. Now, with Cinema Speculation, the results are everything his passionate fans—and all movie lovers—could have hoped for…this book is as intellectually rigorous and insightful as it is rollicking and entertaining.”
The Prix Fitzgerald winner is selected by a jury composed of journalists, writers, and film personalities who are passionate about literature. The jury, helmed by journalist and deputy director of Le Figaro, Bertrand de Saint Vincent, selected the titles as nominees on March 23 and selected the two finalists for the Prix Fitzgerald in mid-May. The honor recognizes a novel or short story that reflects the elegance, wit, taste for style, and art of living of the American writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald.
“It should not be forgotten that half of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life was devoted to the cinema and that he was at the origin of hundreds of short stories and screenplays which provided him with a welcome livelihood,” said Marianne Estène-Chauvin. “There is an undeniable connection with the great author and the work of Quentin Tarantino, an abundance of quotes and images that form a constellation in today’s modern sky.”
Jacopo M. Raule/Getty Images
Tarantino joins the portfolio of recent Prix Fitzgerald winners including Jonathan Dee, Jeffrey Eugenides, Jay McInerney, Christopher Bollen, and William Boyd as well as separate honors given on rare occasions; a Gatsby Prize awarded to Thadée Klossowski de Rola and a Zelda Prize awarded to Dominique Bona.
The Prix Fitzgerald ceremony was held on the terrace overlooking the romantic, rocky peninsula with its white pier facing the adjacent islands graced by a “green light” which inspired the great American writer. The Prix Fitzgerald concluded with a dinner held in the exclusive setting of the legendary terraces of this Cap d’Antibes landmark hotel.
Hôtel Belles Rives is an Art Deco gem that stands above the sparkling blue waters of the Mediterranean. F. Scott Fitzgerald pennedTender is the Nighthere, and the property is a testament to the breezy extravagance of a bygone era yet reveals a modern design, offering 43 recently renovated rooms and suites. A gastronomic Mediterranean experience awaits at La Passagère, the onsite, one-star Michelin restaurant led by culinary maestro, Aurélien Véquaud. Classic cocktails can be found at the newly renovated Bar Fitzgerald, named for the property’s original resident. The hotel’s private beach features the Belles Rives Beach Restaurant, the Water Sports Club, and the jetty that’s home to the hotel’s private boat dock. Extend that sun kissed, blissed-out feeling with an innovative treatment by luxe Swiss skincare house, Valmont onsite at its namesake beauty corner. The property—with an ownership bloodline dating back to the 1930s—is now helmed by the fourth generation, the 41-year-old, Antoine Chauvin-Estène who is imparting an egalitarian and refreshing approach to this emblematic riviera classic.
For more information visit bellesrives.com and follow on Instagram @bellesrives.
Hôtel Belles Rives announces 2023 Prix Fitzgerald laureate Quentin Tarantino. Photo by Gregoire Bernardi/AP Images.