26/10/2010

Barring a highly unlikely turnaround in events, Véronique Cayla, current director general of the National Film and Moving Image Centre (CNC), will tomorrow succeed Jérôme Clément at the head of Franco-German TV network Arte.

According to Michel Reilhac (Arte France Cinéma) who leaked the news on Twitter, the Arte group’s supervisory board yesterday ratified this decision which should get the approval of the General Assembly tomorrow. Cayla would thus become president of Arte GEIE from next January and would officially take over as head of Arte France in March 2011, when Clément leaves his post.

After working at the Culture Ministry from 1973-1981, Cayla was appointed in 1982 to the Paris Vidéothèque (video library) where she became managing director in 1989 before joining MK2 in 1992. She was managing director of the company founded by Marin Karmitz for six years, before being appointed a member of the French Audiovisual Council (CSA) at the start of 1999, followed by managing director of the Cannes Film Festival at the start of 2001.

Catapulted to the head of the CNC on June 22, 2005, over five years she showed a competence in her role that was greatly appreciated by professionals. Among other issues, she worked for an increase in state financing for pre-production and, along with the Culture Ministry, came up with a solution for financially guaranteeing the transition to digital in all French theatres.

Her replacement at the CNC is for the moment merely a subject of speculation. Read Cineuropa for further developments.

(Translated from French)