11/10/2007

The spotlight is on an important sector of French cinema in Paris this evening, with the second edition of the Nuit des Industries Techniques de la Création (“Night of Creative Technical Industries).

Organised by the FICAM (Fédération des industries du Cinéma, de l’Audiovisuel et du Multimédia) and presided over by Thierry de Segonzac, the event will take place at the académie Fratellini. Over 1,200 guests are expected to attend.

Participants include Minister of Culture Christine Albanel, directors such as Mathieu Kassovitz and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, as well as representatives from all of France’s producer, distributor, exhibitor and director unions (APC, SPI, ARP, FNDF, FNCF, etc.).

The FICAM – an umbrella organisation of over 160 companies with a turnover of €1bn and a staff of 10,000 – has often been recognised for its defence of the film industry at a European level. The sector’s dynamism has been further boosted by tax credits, which were introduced in 2004 to support cinema, and which were later extended to the audiovisual sector.

Statistics from the Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) show that 77.4% of French films produced in 2006 were filmed in France (998 weeks of filming, including 80 in studio compared to 291 weeks abroad). The laboratory work of almost all of these features was carried out in France, with Eclair, GTC, LTC and Arane/Mikros having done post-production for 87% of these films. This volume of activity was accompanied by internationally renowned expertise, notably in the area of special effects with outfits such as Buf Compagnie (Astérix at the Olympic Games [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Dante 01 [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Spiderman 3, Arthur and the Invisibles [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), MacGuff Ligne (99 F [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Tell No One [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Azur & Asmar [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), Duboi, Def2shoot and La Maison.

(Translated from French)