06/11/2002 - An ambitious programme for the 1st edition of the European Commission's Cined@ys, from 15 to 24 November

France, the cradle of art and arthouse cinema, has developed an ambitious programme for the first edition of Cined@ys, scheduled to take place throughout Europe from 15-24 November. Cined@ys is an initiative of the European Commission (EC) and is taking place under the patronage of Pablo Almodovar.
In celebration of Europe’s film heritage, the French programme consists of programmed screenings of some 80 European classic titles in nine French cities. The aim is to trace the history of European cinema through the work of great directors of the 7th art like Vittorio De Sica, Jacques Tati, Jean Renoir, Andrei Tarkovski, Carlos Saura and Joseph Losey. The screenings will take place at the French Film Archive (“La Cinémathèque”) and in theatres that belong to the Europa Cinema circuit that are taking part in this event.
In Bordeaux, Lille, Orleans, Paris, Rennes, Saint Etienne, Strasbourg and Valence, filmgoers and school children in particular, will have an opportunity to see or discover for the first time the multi-faceted aspects of their European film heritage. In Angers (western France) for example, the “Les Les 400 coups” Art et Essai & Recherche Cinema chose the theme of: “Masterpieces of European Filmmakers – Reflections of an Era” through an analysis of six films: : Jean Vigo’s l’Atalante, Fellini’s La Strada, Dreyer’s Gertrude, Bunuel’s Viridiana, Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps and Fritz Lang’s M le Maudit.
“We wanted to programme some great classics and invited film critic, Jean Douchet, to take part in a discussion group,” said theatre manager, Isabelle Tarrieux. “It is very important for college and school students to have access to European masterpieces. We contacted and informed all the foreign language teachers in our town about this initiative; over 1000 people.”
Concurrently with these theatrical screenings, Cined@ys also has the support of the following French television channels: TV5, Arte and France Télévisions – all of whom are scheduled to air numerous European films. 24 European countries have adhered to this important European Film Heritage Week.

(f.l.)

(Translated from French)