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CANNES 2018 Industry / CNC@Cannes2018

Shooting in the French regions

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- CANNES 2018: The CNC organised an insightful conference on how the French regions support filming in their territories

Shooting in the French regions
The panellists who took part in the event

Sabine Lhermet, director of the Dunkirk Tourist Office, opened an insightful panel organised by the CNC in Cannes on filming in the French regions by detailing the benefits that her region enjoyed after Christopher Nolan shot his three-time Academy Award winner Dunkirk [+see also:
trailer
film profile
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there. The interest surrounding the film attracted myriad French and international tourists, thus boosting the local economy, especially restaurants, shops and small businesses. The tourist office also launched merchandising and tours of the locations where the movie was shot. This strategy led not only to economic growth in the area, but also to the locals rediscovering their own history, land and cultural heritage.

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Moderated by Marc Tessier, the conference centred on how the French regions operate, their agendas and what can be done to improve and enhance the integration of their initiatives. The list of panellists included: Agnès Evran, vice-president in charge of Education and Culture for Ile-de France; Dominique Salomon, vice-president in charge of Culture, Heritage and Languages for Occitanie; Eric Correia, regional delegate for Creative Economies, Innovation and Culture for Nouvelle-Aquitaine; Florence Vernay-Carron, vice-president in charge of Culture and Heritage for Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes; Pascal Mangin, president of the Cultural Commission for Grand Est; François Decoster, vice-president in charge of Culture for Hauts-de-France; Catherine Morin-Desailly, senator of Seine-Maritime; and Emilie Cariou, deputy of Meuse.

The Tax Rebate for International Productions (TRIP) put in place by the CNC has allowed the individual French regions to attract both national and foreign productions. As highlighted by Christophe Tardieu, deputy managing director of the CNC, during his introduction to the event, each region has something unique about its territory and a rich historical heritage that contribute to making France one of the favourite destinations for filming. The budget that each region can count on varies from the €20 million of the centrally located Île-de France to smaller budgets ranging between €3 million and €6 million in the other regions. Despite the disadvantages in terms of funds that some of the panellists face, the results achieved are outstanding, and they all contribute to creating employment and strengthening the local and national economies.

A common priority that all regions seem to share is the education of the audience through cultural initiatives such as film festivals and graduate and post-graduate studies, but also targeted financial support for first-time directors in order to boost creativity and employment among young people. In 2017, 30% of the productions funded by Île-de France were directorial debuts, and overall, the film industry generated 140,000 jobs. With 25 screenplays and 35 co-productions supported annually, Île-de France confirms its role as one of the leading regions in Europe in this field, but the other regions are no less committed. With a budget of €7 million, Occitanie follows a similar agenda to Île-de-France and prides itself on its focus on animations. With an investment of €600,000 in 2015, this sector generated a return of €8 million for the local economy and a total of 500 paid jobs in the region. In the Cartoon Forum in Toulouse, this booming industry, which has no fewer than 12 production studios established in the region, has a fundamental platform to showcase itself to the whole world. Indeed, in 2017, it showed off 82 projects from 23 territories, and attracted 950 professionals from 40 countries.

Second in France only to the Île-de-France region, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has co-produced over 280 films since 1991 and has an annual investment capacity of €3 million to €4 million. The Pôle PIXEL in Villeurbanne, CITIA in Annecy, the Village de Lussas in Ardèche and the Cartoucherie in Bourg-lès-Valence are just some of the examples of successful incubators for the development of films, the training of new professionals and the discovery of new talents. Our Struggles [+see also:
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interview: Guillaume Senez
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]
by second-time director Guillaume Senez and Amin [+see also:
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interview: Philippe Faucon
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by Philippe Faucon, selected respectively for this year's Critics’ Week and Directors’ Fortnight, are just two examples of successful co-productions shot in the region. Cannes will also be showcasing five films supported by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region: Girls of the Sun [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eva Husson
film profile
]
, At War [+see also:
film review
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interview: Stéphane Brizé
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]
, My Favourite Fabric [+see also:
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]
, Murder Me, Monster [+see also:
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and L'Amour debout [+see also:
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.

A common goal for the French regions whose representatives were attending the panel was also to prioritise the preservation and appreciation of nature and historical heritage and, by doing so, generate new jobs and stimulate the creativity and growth of entrepreneurial activities in each individual territory. As many areas suffer from depopulation, the decentralisation of the film industry from the big metropolitan areas such as Paris to smaller centres would help to redistribute the population, and this would bring investments and wealth into areas that are currently less developed. It also makes sense in terms of production because shooting in a small town would be much easier than in a big capital like Paris, where it's much harder to get permission to shoot in crowded areas. The whole production would also receive a more consistent level of support, including from the locals, who would be fascinated by the sheer spectacle of a film shoot and would be more willing to help and welcome the professionals at work. It is nevertheless necessary, as noted by Pascal Mangin, to inform the citizens about why it is so important to invest in cinema instead of other more practical spending areas, and why allocating funds to developing a local film industry in each region is so vital to a flourishing economy. The regions may differ from one another in terms of landscapes and budgets, but this conference organised by the CNC proved that they all care about the same key points: education, territory, creativity and new jobs.

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