23/07/2003

The first edition of a new film event, Paris Cinéma, was deemed a great success, attracting some 70,000 ticket paying visitors to the 30 Parisian cinemas that took part from 2-15 July.
Paris Cinéma was presided over by director Costa-Gavras and, with tickets priced at just €4 a pop throughout Paris, the calculated risk taken by the organisers paid off in full. The two-week eclectic programme of premieres, the Forum des Images competition, sections for animation, experimental, European, short, film school and European films, as well as hip-hop, an Antonioni retrospective, round-table discussions, a tribute to Italian comedy and celebrations of artists like Terry Gilliam, Solveig Anspach, Fabrice Luchini, Maurice Pialat, Djamshed Usmonov and Isabelle Huppert was almost a surfeit of cinema.
“This is a particularly tough time for French film attendance, and yet Paris Cinèma, an event that must grow in terms of visibility and word-of-mouth, has proved its popularity both with audiences and industry operators,” declared the happy organisers. Next year’s edition will be even better at launching August and September releases.

(Translated from French)