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Coen brothers to get top French cultural award

American film-making brothers Joel and Ethan Coen will receive France's highest cultural honour at a ceremony in Paris on Wednesday. The Oscar-winning directors will join the likes of Bono and Bob Dylan when they're inducted into the Order of Arts and Letters.

Coen brothers to get top French cultural award
The Coen Brothers Ethan (L) and Joel (R) with their 2008 Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars for "No Country For Old Men." Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP

US filmmakers Joel and Ethan Cohen will on Wednesday be presented with France's highest cultural honour at a ceremony in Paris.

The brothers, much garlanded for their large body of work including the Oscar-winning "No Country for Old Men" and "Barton Fink" which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, will each be made a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters.

The brothers – Joel, 58, and Ethan 56 – are regarded as two of the most the most innovative directors in the world.

Since exploding onto the scene in 1984 with their noir thriller "Blood Simple," they have reeled off a dozen films each notable for their distinctive quirky humour or macabre themes.

The Coens' most recent film "Inside Llewyn Davis" took the Grand Prix (runner-up prize) at this year's Cannes film festival.

Starring Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan and Justin Timberlake, the film tells the story of a struggling singer-songwriter against the backdrop of the 1960s New York folk scene.

The Cinémathèque Française in Paris is hosting a retrospective of the Coen brothers' movies until October 27th. 

SEE ALSO: 10 Must-see French movies of the Millenium

Other recent recipients from the world of film and music include movie star Bruce Willis and U2 frontman Bono, who got the honour in July.

For his part, Beatles legend Ringo Starr was made a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters at a ceremony in Monaco last month. 

US folk music icon Bob Dylan – a Commander since 1990 – was at the centre of a recent controversy in France, when his nomination for the country's highest civilian award, the Legion of Honour, was held up by a French general who said his pot-smoking, anti-war past made him "unworthy" of the honour.

In the end, however, General Jean-Louis Georgelin, head of the panel which chooses recipients every year, green-lighted Dylan's induction, calling him a "a great poet."

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POLITICS

Meet America’s new Ambassador to France

An experienced diplomat who formerly worked in Belgium, the USA's new Ambassador has arrived in Paris.

Meet America’s new Ambassador to France

France’s new US Ambassador is no stranger to US-European relations, having served as Ambassador to Belgium for four years.

An experienced diplomat and a fluent French speaker, Denise Campbell Bauer, 58, was based in Brussels between 2013 and 2017 after being nominated to the position by Barack Obama – for whom she had raised millions of dollars for his two presidential campaigns.

A noted advocate for women in politics, in 2019, she was executive director of the ‘Women for Biden’ campaign group for Joe Biden’s ultimately successful bid for the Presidency.

She is a former TV journalist and has worked with the American Red Cross. 

She was nominated for the post of Ambassador to France and Monaco by President Joe Biden in July, and confirmed by the Senate during a marathon series of votes in December. She presented her credentials last month.

Announcing her nomination, the White House said in a statement: “Denise Campbell Bauer is an experienced diplomat, non-profit leader, and advocate for women’s voices in politics and policy. 

“She served as the United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium from August 2013 until January 2017, where she led one of the largest embassies in Europe and earned a reputation for her collaborative leadership style, high ethics standards, and crisis management skills.”

She takes over the post at a critical time in global politics, with the US and EU nations co-ordinating sanctions against Russia, following the invasion of Ukraine.

She succeeds Trump nominee Jamie McCourt, who left in January. Chargé d’affaires Brian Aggeler has managed the embassy in the short intervening period.

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