Cinema of France
Cinema of France | |
---|---|
No. of screens | 5,653 (2014)[1] |
Main distributors | 20th Century Studios (The Walt Disney Company) (14.6%) Warner Bros. (9.8%) UGC (6.9%)[1] |
Produced feature films (2018[2]) | |
Total | 258 |
Animated | 36 (5.3%) |
Documentary | 127 (18.6%) |
Number of admissions (2018[2]) | |
Total | 197.1 million |
National films | 77.8 million (39.47%) |
Gross box office (2018[2]) | |
Total | €1.31 billion |
National films | €493.10 million (43.1%) |
French cinema consists of the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe; with primary influence also on the creation of national cinemas in Asia.
France continues to have a particularly strong film industry, due in part to protections afforded by the
France currently has the most successful film industry in Europe, in terms of number of films produced per annum, with a record-breaking 300 feature-length films produced in 2015.[5] France is also one of the few countries where non-American productions have the biggest share: American films only represented 44.9% of total admissions in 2014. This is largely due to the commercial strength of domestic productions, which accounted for 44.5% of admissions in 2014 (35.5% in 2015; 35.3% in 2016).[6] The French film industry is closer to being entirely self-sufficient than any other country in Europe, recovering around 80–90% of costs from revenues generated in the domestic market alone.[7]
The most influential film directors in the history of French cinema are
Apart from its strong and innovative film tradition, France has also been a leading destination for filmmakers and actors from around the world; consequently, French cinema is sometimes intertwined with the cinema of foreign nations. Directors from nations such as Poland (Roman Polanski, Krzysztof Kieślowski, and Andrzej Żuławski), Argentina (Gaspar Noé and Edgardo Cozarinsky), Russia (Alexandre Alexeieff, Anatole Litvak), Austria (Michael Haneke), and Georgia (Géla Babluani, Otar Iosseliani) are prominent in the ranks of French cinema. Conversely, French directors have had prolific and influential careers in other countries, such as Luc Besson, Jacques Tourneur, or Francis Veber in the United States.
A favorite theme has been the French Revolution, with hundreds of titles.[13][14][15][16][17]
History
The early days of the industry, from 1896 to 1902, saw the dominance of four firms:
In 1902,
At Gaumont, pioneer Alice Guy-Blaché (M. Gaumont's former secretary) was made head of production and oversaw about 400 films, from her first, La Fée aux Choux, in 1896, through 1906. She then continued her career in the United States, as did Maurice Tourneur and Léonce Perret after World War I.
In 1907, Gaumont owned and operated the biggest movie studio in the world, and along with the boom in construction of "luxury cinemas" like the Gaumont-Palace and the Pathé-Palace (both 1911), cinema became an economic challenger to theater by 1914.[20]
After World War I
After World War I, the French film industry suffered because of a lack of capital, and film production decreased as it did in most other European countries. This allowed the United States film industry to enter the European cinema market, because American films could be sold more cheaply than European productions, since the studios already had recouped their costs in the home market. When film studios in Europe began to fail, many European countries began to set import barriers. France installed an import quota of 1:7, meaning for every seven foreign films imported to France, one French film was to be produced and shown in French cinemas.[21]
During the period between World War I and World War II, Jacques Feyder and Jean Vigo became two of the founders of poetic realism in French cinema. They also dominated French impressionist cinema, along with Abel Gance, Germaine Dulac and Jean Epstein.
In 1931, Marcel Pagnol filmed the first of his great trilogy Marius, Fanny, and César. He followed this with other films including The Baker's Wife. Other notable films of the 1930s included René Clair's Under the Roofs of Paris (1930), Jean Vigo's L'Atalante (1934), Jacques Feyder's Carnival in Flanders (1935), and Julien Duvivier's La belle equipe (1936). In 1935, renowned playwright and actor Sacha Guitry directed his first film and went on to make more than 30 films that were precursors to the New Wave era. In 1937, Jean Renoir, the son of painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, directed La Grande Illusion (The Grand Illusion). In 1939, Renoir directed La Règle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game). Several critics have cited this film as one of the greatest of all-time, particularly for its innovative camerawork, cinematography and sound editing.
Post–World War II
1940s–1970s
After World War II, the French actress Leslie Caron and the French actor Louis Jourdan enjoyed success in the United States with several musical romantic comedies, notably An American in Paris (1951) and Gigi (1958), based on the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette.
In the magazine
Many contemporaries of Godard and Truffaut followed suit, or achieved international critical acclaim with styles of their own, such as the minimalist films of Robert Bresson and Jean-Pierre Melville, the Hitchcockian-like thrillers of Henri-Georges Clouzot, and other New Wave films by Agnès Varda and Alain Resnais. The movement, while an inspiration to other national cinemas and unmistakably a direct influence on the future New Hollywood directors, slowly faded by the end of the 1960s.
During this period, French commercial film also made a name for itself. Immensely popular French comedies with
In addition, French movie stars began to claim fame abroad as well as at home. Popular actors of the period included Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Catherine Deneuve, Jeanne Moreau, Simone Signoret, Yves Montand, Jean-Paul Belmondo and still Jean Gabin.
Since the Sixties and the early Seventies they are completed and followed by
In 1968, the May riots shook France. François Truffaut had already organised demonstrations in February against Henri Langlois's removal as head of the Cinémathèque française and dedicated his film Stolen Kisses, which was being made, to Langlois. The Cannes Film Festival is cancelled – on the initiative of Truffaut, Godard and Louis Malle. Jean-Luc Godard no longer works in the commercial film business for years. Political films such as Costa-Gavras' Z celebrate success. Chabrol continues his vivisection of the bourgeoisie (The Unfaithful Wife) and Truffaut explores the possibility of bourgeois marital happiness (Bed and Board). While Godard disappears from cinema after the Nouvelle Vague except for a few essays, Truffaut and Chabrol remain the leading directors whose artistic aspects remain commercially successful. Other directors of the 1970s in this effect are
The 1979 film
1980s
According to
1990s
Jean-Paul Rappeneau's
Luc Besson made La Femme Nikita in 1990, a movie that inspired remakes in both United States and in Hong Kong. In 1994, he also made Léon (starring Jean Reno and a young Natalie Portman), and in 1997 The Fifth Element, which became a cult favorite and launched the career of Milla Jovovich.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet made Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children (La Cité des enfants perdus), both of which featured a distinctly fantastical style.
In 1992,
The success of Michel Ocelot's Kirikou and the Sorceress in 1998 rejuvenated the production of original feature-length animated films by such filmmakers as Jean-François Laguionie and Sylvain Chomet.
2000s
In 2000, Philippe Binant realized the first digital cinema projection in Europe, with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments, in Paris.[9][10][11]
In 2001, after a brief stint in Hollywood, Jean-Pierre Jeunet returned to France with Amélie (Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain) starring Audrey Tautou. It became the highest-grossing French-language film ever released in the United States. The following year, Brotherhood of the Wolf became the sixth-highest-grossing French-language film of all time in the United States and went on to gross more than $70 million worldwide.
In 2008,
At the 2008
The 2008 rural comedy
In the 2000s, several French directors made international productions, often in the action genre. These include
Surveying the entire range of French filmmaking today, Tim Palmer calls contemporary cinema in France a kind of eco-system, in which commercial cinema co-exists with artistic radicalism, first-time directors (who make up about 40% of all France's directors each year) mingle with veterans, and there even occasionally emerges a fascinating pop-art hybridity, in which the features of intellectual and mass cinemas are interrelated (as in filmmakers like Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Olivier Assayas, Maïwenn, Sophie Fillières, Serge Bozon, and others).[23]
2010s
One of the most noticed and best reviewed films of 2010 was the drama
French cinema continued its upward trend of earning awards at the Cannes Festival, including the prestigious
In 2011, the film
In 2012, with 226 million admissions (US$1,900 million) in the world for French films (582 films released in 84 countries), including 82
In 2015 French cinema sold 106 million tickets and grossed €600 million outside of the country. The highest-grossing film was Taken 3 (€261.7 million) and the largest territory in admissions was China (14.7 million).[33]
2020s
In 2024, Anatomy of a Fall was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Government support
As the advent of television threatened the success of cinema, countries were faced with the problem of reviving movie-going. The French cinema market, and more generally the French-speaking market, is smaller than the English-speaking market; one reason being that some major markets, including prominently the United States, are reluctant to generally accept foreign films, especially foreign-language and subtitled productions.[34] As a consequence, French movies have to be amortized on a relatively small market and thus generally have budgets far lower than their American counterparts, ruling out expensive settings and special effects.
The French government has implemented various measures aimed at supporting local film production and movie theaters. The Canal+ TV channel has a broadcast license requiring it to support the production of movies. Some taxes are levied on movies and TV channels for use as subsidies for movie production. Some tax breaks are given for investment in movie productions, as is common elsewhere including in the United States. The sale of DVDs is prohibited for four months after the showing in theaters, so as to ensure some revenue for movie theaters.
Co-production
The French national and regional governments involve themselves in film production. For example, the award-winning documentary In the Land of the Deaf (Le Pays des sourds) was created by Nicolas Philibert in 1992. The film was co-produced by multinational partners, which reduced the financial risks inherent in the project; and co-production also ensured enhanced distribution opportunities.[35]
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In Anglophone distribution, In the Land of the Deaf was presented in French Sign Language (FSL) and French, with English subtitles and closed captions.[39]
Festivals
Name | Est. | City | Type | Details | Website |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amiens International Film Festival |
1982 | Amiens | Special interest | Annual festival focusing on the cinemas of Europe, Asia and Latin America. | http://www.filmfestamiens.org |
Festival du Film Merveilleux | 2010 | Paris | International | Annual film festival celebrating the imaginary, the Wonder and magic from all over the world. | http://www.festival-film-merveilleux.com/ |
Annecy International Animated Film Festival |
1960 | Annecy | Special interest | http://www.annecy.org | |
Festival du Film Européen Beauvais-Oise | 1990 | Beauvais | Europe | http://www.beauvaisfilmfest.com | |
Festival International du Film Ecologique de Bourges | 2005 | Bourges | Environmental | https://web.archive.org/web/20121109231709/http://www.festival-film-bourges.fr/english/ecological-film-festival.php | |
Cabestany Short Film Festival | 1981 | Cabestany | International | Annual short film festival | http://www.courts-metrages.org |
Cannes Film Festival | 1939 | Cannes | International | One of the world's oldest, most influential and prestigious festivals, it is held annually (usually in May) at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. | http://www.festival-cannes.com |
CineHorizontes – Festival de cinéma espagnol de Marseille | 2001 | Marseille | Special interest | One of the best Spanish film festivals in France | http://www.cinehorizontes.com |
Cinéma du réel – International Documentary Film Festival | 1978 | Paris | Special interest | http://www.cinereel.org | |
Créteil International Women's Film Festival | 1978 | Créteil | Special interest | Showcase of films by female directors. | http://www.filmsdefemmes.com/ |
Deauville American Film Festival | 1975 | Deauville | Special interest | Annual festival devoted to American cinema. | http://www.festival-deauville.com/ |
Deauville Asian Film Festival | 1999 | Deauville | Special interest | Annual festival devoted to Asian cinema . |
http://www.deauvilleasia.com/ |
ÉCU The European Independent Film festival |
2006 | Paris | Special Interest | Annual festival devoted to independent cinema . | http://www.ecufilmfestival.com/ Archived 2 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine |
Fantastique semaine du cinéma | 2010 | Nice | International | Annual festival devoted to horror and fantastic cinema (Festival du Film Fantastique) cinema | http://www.cinenasty.com/ Archived 12 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine |
Hallucinations Collectives | 2008 | Lyon | Special interest | Annual festival devoted to Horror, fantastic, strange and cult cinema. | http://www.hallucinations-collectives.com |
Fantastic'Arts |
1994 | Gérardmer | Special interest | Annual festival devoted to horror and fantastic cinema (Festival du Film Fantastique) cinema | http://www.gerardmer-fantasticart.com/ Archived 2010-12-13 at the Wayback Machine |
Festival du Film Polonais Cat.Studios | 2007 | Perpignan | Special interest | Annual festival devoted to Polish cinema. | http://www.catstudios.net Archived 17 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine |
Festival du Film Web | Oloron-Sainte-Marie | Special interest | |||
Fantasy film festival | 2017 | Menton | Special interest | Annual festival devoted to Sci-FI and fantastic cinema (Festival international du Film Fantastique de Menton) cinema | https://www.festival-film-fantastique.com/ |
Festival International du Film de Montagne | 1984 | Autrans | Mountain film | first week in December | http://www.festival-autrans.com |
Festival Pocket Film | Paris | Special interest | Mobile phone film festival. | https://web.archive.org/web/20191112050323/http://www.festivalpocketfilms.fr/ | |
Festival international du film des droits de l'homme de Paris | 2003 | Paris | International | Features and shorts documentaries on human rights issues. Once a year, in February or March. Also present in other cities in France. | http://www.festival-droitsdelhomme.org/paris/ Archived 2016-06-08 at the Wayback Machine |
International Festival of Audiovisual Programs | Biarritz | Special interest | https://web.archive.org/web/20060701172343/http://www.fipa.tm.fr/ | ||
International student short-film festival of Cergy-Pontoise | 1991 | Cergy-Pontoise | International | Student Festival | http://lefestivalducourt.org/ |
Les Arcs Film Festival | 2009 | Bourg-Saint-Maurice | European | Held in December | https://lesarcs-filmfest.com/fr |
Marseille Film Festival | 1989 | Marseille | International | Held in July | http://www.fidmarseille.org/ |
NollywoodWeek Paris | 2013 | Paris | Special Interest | Annual festival in late May showcasing the top new films from Nigerian filmmakers and Nollywood | http://www.nollywoodweek.com/ |
Festival du Cinéma européen de Lille | 1984 | Lille | Special interest | European short movies competition | https://eurofilmfest-lille.com/ |
Paris Film Festival | 2003 | Paris | International | Annual festival held in between June and July. | http://www.pariscinema.org/ |
Premiers Plans | Angers | Special interest | Showcase of European directorial debut films. | http://www.premiersplans.org/ | |
Three Continents Festival | 1979 | Nantes | Special interest | Annual festival is devoted to the cinemas of Latin America . |
http://www.3continents.com |
Tréguier International Film Festival | 2009 | Tréguier | International | Annual festival held in July. Open to all filmmakers. | http://www.treguierfilmfest.com Archived 2020-10-23 at the Wayback Machine |
Utopiales – Nantes International Science-Fiction Festival | 1998 | Nantes | Special interest | Annual sci-fi festival. | http://www.utopiales.org/ |
European Student Film Festival | 2006 | Paris | International | Has competition, November 14 to 18, 2012 | http://www.esff.org/ Archived 2016-01-10 at the Wayback Machine |
Toulouse Indian Film Festival | 2013 | Toulouse | India and Indian subcontinent | Has competition, Annual April 22 to 26, 2020 | http://www.ffif.fr/ Archived 24 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine |
Film distribution and production companies
Notable French film distribution and/or production companies include:
- Ad Vitam
- Alfama Films
- ARP Sélection
- Bac Films
- Diaphana Films
- EuropaCorp
- Gaumont
- Haut et Court
- KMBO
- Le Pacte
- Les Films du Losange
- Mars Films
- MK2
- Pan-Européenne
- Pathé
- Pyramide Distribution
- Rezo Films
- SND Films
- StudioCanal
- UGC
- Wild Bunch
See also
- List of French actors
- List of French directors
- List of French-language films
- French comedy films
- List of highest-grossing films in France
- French film awards
- Cinema of the world
References
- ^ a b "Les chiffres clés du cinéma français en 2014 dévoilés avant Cannes". CNC. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
- ^ a b c "Bilan 2018". cnc.fr (in French). 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ^ Alan Riding (28 February 1995). "The Birthplace Celebrates Film's Big 1-0-0". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 June 2017.
- ^ a b "Enquête sur l'image du cinéma français dans le monde – uniFrance Films". Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ^ "CNC – flux". www.cnc.fr. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017.
- ^ "CNC – fréquentation cinématographique". www.cnc.fr. Archived from the original on 15 November 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- ^ "The French System and Managing Co-productions". Skillset. 20 April 2008. Archived from the original on 1 October 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ 20 questions about studying in France Archived 2011-05-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Cahiers du cinéma, n°hors-série, Paris, April 2000, p. 32 (cf. also Histoire des communications, 2011, p. 10. Archived 2013-10-19 at the Wayback Machine).
- ^ a b "Cf. Binant, " Au cœur de la projection numérique ", Actions, 29, Kodak, Paris, 2007, p. 12" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ^ ISBN 9782200290115. Archived from the originalon 24 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2023 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Paris cinema". Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ Casey Harison, "The French Revolution on Film: American and French Perspectives." The History Teacher 38.3 (2005): 299–324. online[dead link]
- ^ Leger Grindon, "Hollywood history and the French Revolution: from The Bastille to The Black Book." Velvet Light Trap (1991): 32–49.
- ^ Robert M. Maniquis, "The French Revolution and the Cinema: Problems in Filmography." Primary Sources & Original Works 1.1–2 (1992): 57–77.
- ^ Antoine de Baecque, "Robespierre au cinéma." Rencontres (2014): 271–281.
- ^ Pascal Dupuy. "La Diffusion des stéréotypes révolutionnaires dans la littérature et le cinéma anglo-saxons (1789–1989)." Annales historiques de la Révolution française (1996) pp. 511–528.
- ^ Universalis, Encyclopædia. "PRÉSENTATION DU CINÉMATOGRAPHE LUMIÈRE". Encyclopædia Universalis. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017.
- OCLC 294064466.
- ^ a b c The Ciné Goes to Town: French Cinema 1896–1914, Richard Abel
- ^ L'Estrange Fawcett: Die Welt des Films. Amalthea-Verlag, Zürich, Leipzig, Wien 1928, p. 149 (German translation of Fawcett's book of 1928: Film, Facts and Forecasts)
- ^ "Foreign Languages Movies". Boxofficemojo.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ISBN 0-8195-6827-9.
- ^ "Article RTL : "Intouchables" devient le film le plus vu de l'année !" (in French). Rtl.fr. 25 November 2011. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "UniFrance Films: Rapport d'activités 2012 – uniFrance Films" (in French). Unifrance.org. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ "Monde – uniFrance Films" (in French). Unifrance.org. Archived from the original on 23 April 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ "2008, année record pour le cinéma français à l'international – uniFrance Films" (in French). Unifrance.org. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ "UniFrance films publie son bilan complet de l'année cinéma 2012 – uniFrance Films" (in French). Unifrance.org. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ "Panorama des salles de cinéma à travers le monde – uniFrance Films" (in French). Unifrance.org. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ "140M d'entrées pour le cinéma français à l'international – uniFrance Films" (in French). Unifrance.org. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ "Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan , Inc". Eiren.org. Archived from the original on 5 May 2005. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ "Bilan Annuel Monde". Jpbox-office.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ Hopewell, John (15 January 2016). "EuropaCorp, Toons, Comedies Drive Robust 2015 for French Exports". Variety. Archived from the original on 16 January 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ Anthony Kaufman (22 January 2006). "Is Foreign Film the New Endangered Species?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
- ^ Cine-Regio: Co-production Archived 2009-06-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "In the Land of the Deaf (1993)," Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine New York Times.
- ^ a b Rhône-Alpes Cinéma Archived 2009-07-24 at the Wayback Machine: Le pays des sourds. Archived 2009-06-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g France Diplomatie: In the Land of the Deaf Archived 2012-04-06 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Library Media Project: In the Land of the Deaf. Archived 2008-09-19 at the Wayback Machine
Further reading
- Austin, Guy. Contemporary French cinema: an introduction (2nd ed. 2008) excerpt
- Harison, Casey. "The French Revolution on Film: American and French Perspectives." The History Teacher 38.3 (2005): 299–324. online[dead link]
- Hayward, Susan. French national cinema (Routledge, 2004).
- Lanzoni, Rémi Fournier. French cinema: from its beginnings to the present (A&C Black, 2004).
- Morrey, Douglas. The legacy of the new wave in French cinema (Bloomsbury Academic, 2018).
- Palmer, Tim and Charlie Michael (eds.) (2013). Directory of World Cinema: France, Intellect/University of Chicago Press, London & Chicago. ISBN 1-8415-0563-3.
- OCLC 19327256.
- Powrie, Phil. French Cinema in the 1980s: Nostalgia and the Crisis of Masculinity (Oxford University Press, 1997).