13/10/2003 - The new EU of 25, digital in cinemas and DVDs are being discussed at the Film Meetings from October 23 to 26. Representatives from the top European Cinema institutions will be attending

Viviane Reding, Jean-Jacques Aillagon, John Woodward (British Film Council), David Kessler (CNC) and Jacques Toubon (Eurimages): this 13th edition of the Beaune Cinema Meetings organised by ARP (Authors, Directors, Producers) on October 23 to 26 in the French city, upholds its tradition as an important strategic event for the world of cinema. There will be the usual 5 debates featuring a plethora of high profile names, and the professionals attending will have a chance to discuss current issues in the convivial atmosphere that has always been a feature of the event.

The round table debates will focus on the central themes affecting the world of French and European cinema at the moment. The first event is on the morning of October 24 and will be looking at European enlargement in the East. The debate will be chaired by the president of Eurimages, Jacques Toubon, and it will include participation by Joel Champion (Unifrance), Christian Masset (the French EU representative), the Slovenia producer Danijel Hocevar, the Frenchman Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre and the distributor from SPI, Ivan Hronec.
. The afternoon’s debate will be on the theme DVD, a break and continuity with Video?. In the chair will be the director Jacques Fansten, with contributions from Nicolas Seydoux (Gaumont), Carl Gottlieb (Writers Guild of America), Philippe Boni (TPS) and Renaud Delourme (Editions de Montparnasse).

On Saturday 25 there’ll be a look at the controversial theme: Digital Screening in cinemas . The debate will be led by the filmmaker Alain Corneau (who’s also the president of this 13th edition of the Meetings), with participation by Claude Eric Poiroux (Europa Cinémas), Jean Labé (president of the FNCF), John Woodward (CEO of the Film Council), Jack Ralite (the former French Culture Minister) and Paris Barclay (Directors Guild of America).
In the afternoon there’s a debate on What Political Culture serves Diversity, where there’ll be speeches by the European Culture Commissioner, Viviane Reding and the French minister Jean-Jacques Aillagon, looking at this crucial issue for the European Film industry and the various financial support mechanisms in place to counteract the pressure from America to completely liberalise the arena of cultural products.

Finally on the morning of Sunday October 28 there’ll be a chance to evaluate new technologies, from cameras to High Definition to software for creating storyboards.

(Translated from French)