After being established and running for several years in Arcachon in 1999, the festival took place each October in Bordeaux, in the French department of Gironde, until 2005.
Waves of Honour were given for the actress Miou-Miou, director Catherine Breillat, and producer Christine Gouze-Rénal.
[11] Annette Bening won the Golden Wave for Best Actress, for her performance in Being Julia,[12] directed by Hungarian director István Szabó.
[4] The French/Algerian film Inch'Allah Dimanche, written and directed by Yamina Benguigui, won the Golden Wave, the Audience Award, and a third award at the festival in 2001,[14][15] when the festival was still in Arcachon.
[5] In 2004, the Danish film In Your Hands, directed by Annette K. Olesen and starring Ann Eleonora Jørgensen, won the Audience Award.