A dual citizen of both the United States and France, Jerome Henry (Jerry) Rudes is the 2014 winner of "La Médaille d'Or du Rayonnement Culturel" for the United States, a prize created by La Renaissance Française in Paris in 1916 by Raymond Poincaré, then President of France. The medal distinguishes persons who have rendered distinguished service in French language, literature, arts, science and technology. It is awarded under the patronage of the President of the French Republic and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Defense and National Education.
After teaching during the 1970s in international schools in Europe, Rudes was appointed Director of English Studies at the Institute of American Universities in Aix-en-Provence in 1980. In 1984, he left that position to create the French-American Centers, not-for-profit cultural exchange and teaching organizations with structures in Aix as well as in Avignon, Marseille, Montpellier and Lyon.
Parallel to his educational ventures, Rudes launched the “French-American Film Workshop” in 1984 in Avignon, an annual crossroads of transatlantic independent cinema that evolved into the Avignon Film Festival. Rudes curated and directed the Avignon Film Festival until its closing in 2008, a 25-year labor of love.
In tandem, Rudes inaugurated the annual Avignon/New York Film Festival in Manhattan in 1994 and directed it for 13 years, based first at Angelika Film Center, then at the French Institute/Alliance Française and finally at Hunter College (CCNY), bringing together in the US, as did the Avignon Film Festival in France, established filmmakers such as Louis Malle, Samuel Fuller, Agnès Varda, Jerry Schatzberg, Claude Lelouche, Roger Corman, David Brown, Curtis Hanson, Mika Kaurismaki, Claude Miller, Paul Schrader, Jean-Charles Tacchella, Bob Rafelson and Paul Mazursky, as well as scores of emerging filmmakers like Cedric Klapisch, Richard Linklater, Arnaud Desplechin, Alexander Rockwell, Christophe Ruggia, Bruno Dumont, Gaspar Noé and Quentin Tarantino.
Rudes co-authored Samuel Fuller’s “A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking,” published in the US by Alfred Knopf in 2004, and in France in 2010 by Editions Allia. In 2005, Mr. Rudes played the third lead in a Luc Besson-produced comedy, “Au Suivant!” (“Next!”) directed by Jeanne Biras, alongside Alexandra Lamy and Clovis Cornillac.
After a decade with the venerable Fifi Oscard Agency and upon Ms. Oscard’s passing, Rudes created Mistral Artist Management, LLC. Under the Mistral Artist banner, Rudes represents a select group of talented authors, playwrights, directors, screenwriters and actors in America and Europe.
Mistral Artist was also the platform for the launching of Cinémonde in New York City in 2008, a year-round series of invitation-only evenings for film lovers and filmmakers with sneak previews of thought-provoking films from around the world. Cinémonde soirées include cocktail receptions, Q&As with the filmmakers and networking opportunities for film, media and entertainment professionals, and those who want to be. Among the many filmmakers who have presented their work at Cinémonde are Mary Stuart Masterson, Jerry Zaks, John Turturro, Susan Seidelman, Matthew Broderick, Patrice Leconte, Dayna Goldfine & Dan Geller, Jannicke Systad Jacobsen, Frederic Lilien, Jörgen Bergmark, Gianni Di Gregorio, Laurent Tirard, Tammy Simon Hoffs, Jennifer Devoldère and Thierry Binisti. For a list of films shown at the first 50 Cinémonde soirees, go to The First Fifty..
Beginning in 2002, Rudes served as US Coordinator for LVT, one of the world leaders in film and digital subtitling. In that capacity, he supervised the subtitling of hundreds of films, including many official selections for the Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance, Locarno, Tribeca and Toronto Film Festivals. His work encompassed new titles as well as restorations, including CAESER MUST DIE by the Taviani brothers, HOLY MOTORS by Leos Carax, THE FAMILY by Luc Besson, THE WAR by Ken Burns, TERRAFERMA by Emanuele Crialese, GO FOR SISTERS by John Sayles, CHASING ICE by Jeff Orlowski, BATTLE OF ALGIERS by Gillo Pontecorvo, DAMSELS IN DISTRESS by Whit Stillman, CITY OF MEN by Paulo Morelli, TAKING WOODSTOCK by Ang Lee, WOMEN ON THE SIXTH FLOOR by Philippe Le Guay, STARBUCK by Ken Scott, PASSIONE by John Turturro, SNOWFLOWER by Wayne Wang, 13 ASSASSINS by Takashi Miike, FAREWELL MY QUEEN by Benoit Jacquot and BAD by Spike Lee.
As of March 1, 2014, Mistral Artist has taken over all subtitling, captioning and dubbing activity of LVT-USA. Mistral Artist subtitled Bennett Miller's new film, FOXCATCHER, which won the Best Director's award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Rudes has also supervised several dubbing projects, most notably the Japanese VO for THE COVE by Louis Psihoyos, which premiered at the Tokyo Film Festival and went on to win the 2010 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.
Among recent subtitling and captioning projects, Mistral Artist has worked on ICAROS: A VISION by Matteo Norzi and Leonor Caraballo, DO NOT RESIST by Craig Atkinson, TRAMPS by Adam Leon, WHITE SUN by Deepak Rauniyar, SEMBENE! by Samba Gadjigo and Jason Silverman, PLEASE STAND BY by Ben Lewin, DANNY SAYS by Brendan Toller.
From left to right: Mme. & Mr. Francois Delattre, Ambassador of France to the United States, Jerome Henry Rudes and Jane Robert, United States President of La Renaissance Française, at the Ambassador's official residence in Washington, D.C. on July 8, 2014.
