21/10/2005

The cream of the French film industry has migrated, as they do every year, to Bourgogne for the opening today of the 15th Rencontres de Beaune organised by l’ARP (the society of Authors – Directors - Producers). Until Sunday, four debates on major topical issues for European cinema, playing a key role in the promotion of cultural diversity discussed this week at Unesco and on the subject of the revision of "Television without frontiers", and also the vital questions linked to the emergence of digital technology (read detailed programme).

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Heading the list of personalities at Beaune are Viviane Reding, European commissionaire in charge of Medias and the Information Society, French Minister for Culture Renaud Donnedieu De Vabres and the director general of National Film Centre (CNC) Véronique Cayla. among the numerous French and European guests, professionals and institutions, names that stand out are Catherine Demier (new director general of the Cannes festival ), Thierry Fremaux (artistic delegate for Cannes), Bertrand Meheut (president director general of Canal+), Jean Labé (president of the national Federation of Exhibitors), Patrick Lamassoure (National French Film Commission), Nathalie Bloch-Laine (French film acquisitions for Canal+), Patrick Brouiller (AFCAE), Thierry Bert (France Télévisions), Nicolas De Tavernost (M6), Jean Cazes (European Producers Club) and Véronique Bouffard (Unifrance). Also, all the professional organisations for cinema and the audiovisual industry will be there, the Union of Independent Producers will be represented by Marie Masmonteil (Elzevir Films) and CSPF by Jean-François Lepetit (Flach Film), and also the U P F, SRF, SACD, A L P A, FNDF, Uspa... Also in Bourgogne are TV cinema reps for (France 2 Cinéma, France 3 Cinéma, Studio Canal, M6 Films, TF1 Films Production), regional reps and production companies such as Pathé Renn Productions, EuropaCorp, Mact Productions and TS Productions.

Financial institutions and the technical industry are there too, with top delegates from Natexis Coficiné, Cofiloisirs, plus Cofinova 2, and important secondary delegations, such as the group headed by Thierry De Segonzac (president director general of Ficam) which includes eminent members of Quinta Industries, Panavision Alga, Laboratoires Eclair, GTC, Fuji, Thomson, Digimage, Kodak, Mikros Image, Duboi Duboicolor, Titra Film and Barco.
Finally, the pillars of the event, the Authors – Directors - Producers include notably in their ranks this year Abdelkrim Bahloul (Les Films Sur La Place), Christophe Barratier (Galatée Films), Jean-Jacques Beineix, Nicolae Caranfil, Arthur Joffé (Jetlag Films) Pierre Jolivet (La Film Compagnie), Gérard Krawczyk, Philippe Le Guay (Les Films de la Suane), Claude Miller (Les Films de la Boissière), Brigitte Roüan, Christophe Ruggia, Jean Paul Salomé and Cécile Telerman.

(Translated from French)