09/06/2003

There was a birthday party held in Paris last week in honour of the Fondation Gan , which has celebrated its 100th graduation. The foundation was launched in 1987 and, over the years, has had financial patronage from many of the great names from the world of French cinema, including Régis Wargnier, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christian Carion andNicolas Philibert.

With more than 2,000 screenplays collected over 16 years, 80 producers who’ve received help and 100 films supported, 70 of which are feature length films, the Fondation Gan has become a staunch partner for young French directors. It was set up in 1987 by Constantin Costas Gavras, who was the president of the Cinémathèque Française at the time, and the initial aim was to look for private funding to restore films. Then the foundation extended its scope to support between 5-6 new films every year, with each work being given a grant of Euro 67,600. It’s a substantial support that has enabled many filmmakers to make their first works: Bernard Giraudeau (Unpredictable Nature of the River), Tran Anh Hung (The Scent of Green Papaya), Yamina Bachir (Rachida), Régis Wargnier (I'm the King of the Castle), Raymond Depardon (Prisoner of the Desert), Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro (Delicatessen), Nicolas Philibert (In the Land of the Deaf) and Christian Carion (One Swallow Brought Spring).

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At the same time the organisation is still involved in the restoration of crucial works like L'Age d'or by Bunuel or Play Time and The Big Day by Jacques Tati. During this party, Fondation Gan gathered together many personalities from the world of cinema to celebrate its work: the actresses Irène Jacob, Claudia Cardinale and Maria de Medeiros, the comedian François Cluzet, the directors Agnès Varda and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, as well as the new director general of the Cinémathèque Française, Serge Toubiana.

(Translated from French)