The writing is light, lively, funny and punchy. Against a frenetic New York backdrop, a cast of anachronistic characters from a diverse range of backgrounds move in and out of each others' lives and homes. Amongst them is a devil who is treated in a way that is quite opposite to what one might expect, a fallen aristocrat who finds himself in the hell of a high-rise, self-centred, cynical city, in which his outmoded powers have little effect.

With Le Diable à New York, Charles Dudoignon Valade wanted to make good use of a place that served as an inspirational setting for him (the narrative speed of 1940s American comedies) and his experiences (he lived in New York for over a year). Behind the deliberately burlesque form of the screenplay is a more profound – and very contemporary – reflection on a society that no longer needs a devil for people's souls to be damned: they can do that all by themselves! He also returns to the theme of the antagonism between men and women, treated from the point of view of an inverted power relationship, and explores the question of being out-of-step and excluded. What's certain is that Charles's writing gives a sense of real rhythm, a sympathetic melody somewhere between jazz and old comedy.  His twin-track education has no doubt played a part in this: a graduate of the French film school Fémis, with a Master's in French language and literature, he is also a musician (American School of Modern Music), and a composer. He wrote the music for, amongst others, Crystal Kwok's film The Mistress, and the score for Les Conspirateurs, a musical comedy created at the TILF theatre in La Villette, Paris, aired on France Culture in September 2000.

Although he acknowledges that he has long felt torn between writing scores and producing images, today Charles seems increasingly able to work with both strings on his bow.  Having produced a documentary on Chinese cinema, another of his passions, and written a radio series that was broadcast on France Culture, Le Diable à New York seems slated to be his first screenplay to be made into a film. And a "damned" fine thing it is too!

Achievements since winning the grant
In 2002, Charles wrote the songs for the play L’Association, performed at the Thêatre de l’Aquarium in Vincennes.
His award-winning project is now entitled Satan & Ève (the day after 11th September 2001, the Los Angeles Times bore the headline Devil in New York), and in May he obtained help with rewriting from the CNC, the national cinematography centre.