Unifrance responds to attacks
Criticised in a report by Media Consulting Group, ordered by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Unifrance – the agency devoted to the international promotion of French cinema – was yesterday vigorously defended in person by its president Margaret Menegoz and in a well-argued document spanning 30 pages.
The controversy began with press leaks and unfolds in the shadow of the announcement of Menegoz’s replacement in the summer.
Media Consulting Group’s appraisal – which looks at Unifrance’s activity over the last three years – highlights several positive points, but also draws more ambivalent conclusions that have sparked the debate.
The report suggests that "numerous professionals would prefer it if Unifrance promoted French cinema in those places where it is most under threat and where it has considerable potential, in other words it is necessary to focus financial and technical efforts on fewer areas."
Further controversy is raised by the assertion that the organisation places greater emphasis on auteur films to the detriment of more commercial titles, and that its work focuses more on the distribution of films and not on their performance in terms of admissions. This opinion should perhaps be mitigated, for it is the foreign distributors who generally choose the titles promoted by Unifrance.
The report also underlines Unifrance’s difficulty in trying to encourage French stars to participate in its campaigns abroad; an unwillingness to listen to the desires of professionals; and a shortage of promotions using the new information technologies (Internet, VOD).
Currently in Japan – where the Tokyo French Film Festival opened on Thursday, presided by Sophie Marceau (and attended by Cédric Klapisch, Jean-Paul Salomé, Ludivine Sagnier Béatrice Dalle, Patrick Bruel and Julie Depardieu) – Menegoz spoke to AFP of her indignation. She said: "This text is full of errors and approximations. Media Consulting haven’t taken the time necessary to analyse all the evaluation reports on our activities."
A detailed counter report has already been submitted to the Ministry. This is a matter worth watching, all the more surprising given that Unifrance’s activities are usually widely praised and envied by its European counterparts.
(Translated from French)
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