The Avignon film festival - for the first time expanded to include films from Europe, beyond France - awarded its prestigious Prix Tournage to Elias Merhige (US) for Shadow Of The Vampire, Virginie Wagon (France) for Le Secret, Giacomo Campiotti (Italy-France-UK) for A Time To Love (Il Tempo dell'Amore) and Nana Djordjadze (Germany-Georgia) for 27 Missing Kisses. Each receives a prize package including film stock from Kodak and free subtitling from LVT and Final Draft.

SACD 2000 prizes for feature screenwriting went to France's Olivier Jahan for Pretend I'm Not Here (Faites Comme Si Je n'Etais Pas La) and the US' Stacy Title for Let The Devil Wear Black.

Winners of the Prix Panavision 2000 for short films were Guillaume Malandrin (Belgium-France) for Tell Me (Raconte), Jean-Stephane Sauvaire (France) for The Mule (La Mule) and Eric Valette (France) for Saturday, Sunday And Monday Too, (Samedi, Dimanche Et Aussi Lundi).

Special screenings included: Fritz Lang's 1926 classic Metropolis with a European premiere performance of an original score by Kevin Hayes, accompanied by a seven-piece orchestra and 24-member chorus; Pavel Lounguine's The Wedding (La Noce), John Waters' Cecil B DeMented, Exit by Oliver Megaton as a surprise screening, and Agnes Varda's Les Glaneurs Et La Glaneuse as the closing night film.

The Avignon festival's US sister - the Avignon/New York Film Festival - is now scheduled for April 16-22, 2001 at the French Institute Alliance Francaise, New York City.