A special year for Indo-French cinema ties as our two countries are celebrated in each other’s film festivals.
On the occasion of the 75 th anniversary of India’s independence,India was named the ‘Country of Honour’ at the Marche du Cinema of the Cannes Film Festival.
High-level professionals and government delegations from India were present at the Festival, where Indian films were screened under the Special Screenings andthe Cannes Classics categories. This first-ever honour, conferred on India, symbolizes the significant role that cinema plays in the bilateral relationship between India and France in the field ofcultural.
To reciprocate, the International Film Festival of India (IFFI Goa), which is one of the most important festivals in Asia, will feature France in the ‘Country Focus’ segment during its next edition from 20th to 28th November 2022. The history of the art of filmmaking can be traced back to the rich cinematic traditions of France, which boasts of august names such as Auguste and Louis Lumière to Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut and Claude Chabrol, the pioneers of cinema.
Speaking ahead of the event, the Ambassador of France to India, H.E. Mr Emmanuel Lenain, said: “Cinema is a powerful tool to bring the French and the Indian peoples closer together. France and India are two nations with a long and rich cinema history and with thriving movie industries. Indian cinema was honoured in June at the Cannes Film Festival, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence. In reciprocity, France will be the country of focus at the International Film Festival of India with an amazing line-up of French contemporary films. I hope that the Indian audience will enjoy them.
”The line-up of French cinema that will be screened at IFFI Goa includes:
Carte Blanche:
• Les Enfants des Autres (Other People’s Children) by Rebecca Zlotowski
• Ouistreham (Between two worlds) by Emmanuel Carrère
• Belle et Sébastien: Nouvelle génération (Belle and Sebastian – Next Generation) by Pierre Coré
• La Traversée (The Crossing) by Florence Miailhe
• 16 ans (Sixteen) by Philippe Lioret
• La Panthère des Neiges (The Velvet Queen) by Marie Amiguet
• Le Parfum Vert (The Green Perfume) by Nicolas Pariser
• Le Tigre et le Président (The Vanished President) by Jean-Marc Peyrefitte
• À Vendredi, Robinson (See You Friday, Robinson) (Tribute to Godard) by Mitra Farahani
• Specials Screenings:
• Avec Amour et Acharnement (Both Sides of the Blade) by Claire Denis
• Pacifiction – Tourment sur les îles (Pacification) by Albert Serra
• Un Beau Matin (One Fine Morning) by Mia Hansen Love
France, the land that gave birth to ‘the big screen’, has also a strong presence on OTT platforms. Several French contemporary and classic films and series are available in various platforms in India. Overall, among European platforms, French films represented 4.5% of the European content telecast in 2021. French films rank as the 3rd most promoted content (moving up one place from 2020), and the leading non-English content promoted on the European TVOD platform.
Few key points about the French film and other audiovisual industry:
– France produced 300 feature films and 5000 hours of TV & WEB programmes in 2021.
– Foreign pre-financing at its highest level since 2001: early commitments from broadcasters and international partners are a sign of confidence in French production
– Record export flow in 2021: 189.8m € in 2021 (a 20% rise from 2020) of which:
• International pre-sales: €101.5m (record), a 30.5% rise from 2020
• International co-production investments: €88.4m (highest level since 2003), a 10.2% rise from 2020
– A global financial flow from abroad at €680mThe global financial flow from abroad for TV includes:
• International sales of French TV programmes and international pre-financing (pre-sales and co-production investments)
• Foreign expenditure in France for international TV projects (beneficiaries of Tax Rebate for International Productions- TRIP).
• Strong appeal of the TRIP: spending in France of foreign projects has soared in 2021• In 2021, an overall financial flow of €678.6m, the highest level ever recorded (38.8% rise from 2020)
