French-Armenian actor Simon Abkarian was awarded the Armenian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport’s Gold Medal on July 16 during the Yerevan premiere of the De Gaulle films at the Golden Apricot International Film Festival.
The award, presented by Minister Zhanna Andreasyan, recognizes Abkarian’s outstanding contributions to international theater and cinema, his role in promoting Armenian culture on the global stage, and his many years of work strengthening cultural ties between Armenia and France.
Abkarian portrays General Charles de Gaulle in La Bataille de Gaulle: L’Âge de Fer, which world-premiered out of competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on May 20, where he drew a thunderous standing ovation for the performance.
Expressing his gratitude, Abkarian said: “I am happy to be in Armenia and to be part of this beautiful festival.”
Abkarian also received the festival’s honorary Golden Apricot Master Award and is among the honorary guests of the 23rd Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival, which screened La Bataille de Gaulle: L’Âge de Fer and La Bataille de Gaulle: J’écris ton nom on July 16 and 17.
The Films
L’Âge de Fer recounts the events of June 1940, when, following France’s capitulation, the then little-known General Charles de Gaulle traveled to London to launch the Free France movement and continue the fight against Nazi occupation. Adapted from British historian Julian Jackson’s De Gaulle, une certaine idée de la France, the two-part production is billed as one of Pathé’s most ambitious projects. The cast includes Simon Russell Beale, Benoît Magimel, Mathieu Kassovitz, Niels Schneider and Anamaria Vartolomei.
Both Abkarian and Baudry attended the Yerevan premiere. Baudry noted that Armenia is the first country after France where the films are being screened, describing the project as one that combines tragedy and comedy, with tragedy ultimately prevailing.
“The film is really about what people feel when they face the possibility of losing their country. At that time, both the French and the British were living through uncertainty. Yet it is precisely in such moments that a hero believes in his dream and resistance is born,” Baudry said.
“I am delighted to present this film in Armenia because Armenians certainly know what resistance means. The second reason for showing it here is Simon.”
Casting de Gaulle
Baudry recalled a well-known anecdote in which U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided a film should be made about Charles de Gaulle and asked a young William Faulkner to write the screenplay. Faulkner produced several scripts, but as the story goes, de Gaulle himself was ultimately removed because no suitable actor could be found to portray him.
“When I began this project, I knew finding the right actor to play Charles de Gaulle would be one of its greatest challenges,” Baudry said. “Simon Abkarian was the perfect choice and succeeded in embodying an entire nation.”
Preparing for the role, Abkarian spent nearly three weeks studying archival materials, watching de Gaulle’s interviews and films about his life, before setting the research aside to build his own interpretation of the character.
“You can simply imitate such figures — their voice and gestures — but that has never interested me,” Abkarian said during an earlier meeting with audiences. “I wanted to make the role my own, to give it a body and a voice through imagination.”
About Abkarian
Abkarian — an actor, playwright and theater director — was born in 1962 in Gonesse to an Armenian family and raised between France and Lebanon. He began his career in the early 1980s in the United States before joining Ariane Mnouchkine’s Théâtre du Soleil. Since the 1990s he has worked extensively in French and international cinema, collaborating with directors including Cédric Klapisch, Atom Egoyan, Robert Guédiguian, Sally Potter and Fatih Ak?n.
His screen credits include portrayals of Arshile Gorky, Missak Manouchian and now Charles de Gaulle. International audiences also know him from Aram, Egoyan’s Ararat, and the James Bond film Casino Royale.
In theater, he has received several Molière Awards, including for Best Actor, Best Director and Best French-language Playwright.
