CNC sets creativity as priority
"French cinema has to find a balance between creativity, boldness and popularity". At a discussion of the 2006 results and outlook for 2007 at the annual ceremony of the Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC), which took place yesterday before a hall full of film industry professionals, CNC Director General Véronique Cayla named increased action in production as the body’s main priority for 2007.
Stressing that "French production has now reached its cruising speed, with more than 200 films per year and in third position worldwide after India and the US" and with a very high level of attendance for domestic films (85m admissions in 2006, the best performance in 22 years), Cayla praised the consolidation of financing.
For the cinema sector, "the imbalances in 2005 seem to be disappearing; on the one hand, there are less big films and, on the other, less vulnerable films. 2006 was therefore a healthier year in economic terms. One could of course debate which share of these results was artistic and which commercial, but we can and should first be pleased with this overall success," she said.
And even if the success of national features creates a certain pressure on the CNC automatic support account, the Director General has insisted on the necessity to loosen the margin of manoeuvre in order to encourage creativity, by concentrating on the most innovative films and remodelling in this direction the support measures before production.
While reiterating her commitment to producers, distributors and independent exhibitors, the CNC General Director also used the occasion to comment on the current debate on unlimited cards. UGC has announced that the sums paid to distributors for each admission with an unlimited card will be reduced from €5.03 to €4.26, while the price of a monthly subscription to the pink card rose by 10% in four years.
The CNC is expected to renew its agreement on the membership card UGC Illimitée in March. Cayla has said that she will be particularly attentive to the renewal conditions.
(Translated from French)
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
