30/09/2003

The annual general meeting of French cinema operators starts today at Deauville. The event is being held in a high charged climate due to the continued drop in cinema audiences (-7.5% since January 2003). The three day programme of the 58th conference of the National Federation of French Cinema Operators the (FNCF), includes meetings to discuss new ways to re-launch domestic cinema, debates, forums and screenings of films that will be distributed in theatres over the coming months.

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There will be 1,400 people taking part in the FNCF conference (chaired by Jean Labé) and they represent 5,300 cinema screens. The work starts today with a round table discussion about the current situation at the French box office and a look at the way film promotion is progressing. Those expected to take part in the debate include the director-producer Claude Lelouch, the distributors Jean-Paul Rougier (TFM) and Fabienne Vonnier (Pyramide) and, for the operators, representatives from UGC and EuroPalaces. The debate will be centred around the themes of advertising in the cinema, the relationship between distributors and operators and the current state of play in other European markets.
On Wednesday October 1, there’s a forum and a meeting with David Kessler, the director general of the National Film School - CNC. There will be a chance for operators to look at some of the more delicate issues, like the boom in DVDs, which are often seen as in competition for audiences. Finally, on Thursday night 30 distributors will be presenting the new films coming up later in the season.

(Translated from French)