03/10/2002

Multiculturalism is the key. French-language cinema was founded on dialogue between different cultures, and now it seems it has a vitally important new role in the promotion of cultural diversity, in a wider context of globalisation whose main beneficiary is American cinema.
That was premise at the heart of yesterday’s (2 October) meeting at the Festival of Namur, organised by the French National Film Centre (CNC) and the French community in Belgium, to find a way of improving the promotion and worldwide distribution of French-language films.
During the meeting the need to co-ordinate, harmonize and extend existing bilateral co-production agreements between French-speaking countries emerged,“to ensure that they are fully comprehensible and can be implemented fast and without mutual hindrance,” said Henri Ingberg, the secretary general at the French Community in Belgium’s Ministry. Given the need for creation, spreading awareness of, distribution and promotion it was easy to “imagine the creation of a French-speaking programme of global dimensions inspired by the EU’s MEDIA Programme and the Eurimages Fund,” concluded the participants.
With regards to film theatres, it was suggested that a French-speaking network, similar to Europa Cinémas, be created. It was also advisable to investigate the feasibility of setting up a global network for promoting French-language films - based on the Unifrance model.
The participants then turned their attention to the ways in which national and trans-national televisions support the film industry, and also to the production and distribution of films. TV5, the French-language satellite channel “is already broadcasting 100 per cent French-language films to 130 million homes all over the world,” pointed out TV5’s delegate, Michèle Jacobs.
One of the most important duties of the French-speaking cultural community will be to lay down the fundaments of a film market in the French-language countries of North Africa, described by the head of Ecrans Noirs, Bassek Ba Kobhio as “vast territory waiting to be conquered”.
”The Americans immediately realised the importance of expansion,” he said. “We would do well to ask them to help us to open theatres, develop film distribution circuits and, possibly, help us sell our films in America too.”
This new initiative was launched at the Festival of Namur and, in a few days’ time will be further developed at the forthcoming French-speaking Summit meeting in Beirut, the Ouagadougou Festival in February and also in Cannes in May 2003.

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