28/02/2006

Cinema lecturer, exhibitor, distributor, producer, founder and director of the Angers Premiers Plans festival, a showcase for first films by European filmmakers and currently director of the Europa Cinemas, Claude Eric Poiroux is not only a key personality in French cinema but in European cinema as a whole. We met with the genesis of Europa Cinemas, whose 18th edition of the Premiers Plans festival took place at the end of January.

Cineuropa: You remind us often that European cinema has a stronger presence beyond Europe than within Europe itself.
Claude Eric Poiroux: Yes. It’s true that, worldwide, countries that accept either American films or European films – which nonetheless represents the only, true alternative – are up against it. There are festivals in every country and there are people who are interested in cinema everywhere, and where European cinema has found its place, people love it. I produced Olivier Assayas’ first feature, and everywhere I went people knew him. And Olivier’s not exactly Luc Besson! Yet he’s known worldwide! European cinema is truly powerful because it’s the rightful alternative. In Europe, that’s not something people take into account. There is local cinema, there are fads, Asian or Argentinean films, for example. I have nothing against these huge sources of production but the problem is that we have more access to a Taiwan film than one from the Czech Republic. And there is no longer a star-system.

What do you mean by that?
The only star-system that is still in place is, fortunately, that of the auteurs. There are 50 filmmakers who are at the top of the European auteur star-system, people like Almodóvar, Lars Von Trier and Ken Loach who are known throughout Europe. We had Alain Delon, Marcello Mastroianni, who could touch the public very deeply. Nowadays, we are struggling to create a star-system. For example: Stefano Accorsi was at the festival last year. In Italy, he can’t cross the street alone. He is a star. When he came to Angers, the public didn’t know who he was. We are more likely to hear people talk of international fashion stars than film stars! It’s no surprise that American stars take care of their images, as they are very talented and display a faultless professionalism.

But do we really have to take on the Americans in their own territory? Doesn’t the specificity of European cinema lie elsewhere?
You are attending a festival where we will sell 50,000 tickets with films by unknown filmmakers. That is proof that it is still possible to achieve something. We are not going to create a star-system in one day in Angers. We arouse interest, this is an event at which people want to participate. But we are at a point now where we have to put a great deal of effort into the notion that films must be seen in the theatres, full of people, to make it an event. When people see films under those conditions, they are moved, surprised, more surprised and more enchanted or disturbed than they would be for a formula film. And they don’t forget that, it makes an impression on them. Europa Cinemas is, if you like, about circulating films and educating the audiences. You can’t coerce them, you have to draw people to the cinema. That’s all. And it works. For our 400 coups presentation, we were down 2.4% in admissions while Gaumont was down by 12%. We were able to react better because we don’t rely on blockbusters for our audience figures.

Don’t you think that the public are going to the cinema less because they are bored, mainly with these formula films? And that the auteur films, rich in quality, are less likely to lose their audiences?
The other day at the Europa Cinemas conference, the owner of the Spanish Renoir theatres said more or less the same thing. "We are going through a difficult spell at the moment but it’s tougher for the large exhibitors and we will continue to resist for a long time."