19/04/2006

At 32, Antoine Rein co-runs the production outfits Delante Films and Karé Productions. With 30 shorts on his slate, in 2001 he started production on the feature Sexy boys followed by J'me sens pas belle by Bernard Jeanjean in 2004, both of which were box-office successes. In 2006 he plans to work on the post-production of Les murs porteurs by Cyril Gelblat (with Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Charles Berling, Miou Miou and Schulamit Adar) and on the preparation of J'veux pas que tu t'en ailles by Bernard Jeanjean with Richard Berry and Judith Godrèche (shooting due to commence end of May), as well as Je déteste les enfants des autres by Anne Fassio with Elodie Bouchez.

What type of producer are you?
My passion for films is what motivated me to work in cinema, and by 24 I had set up my first production company . What interests me, is being close to the action, the authors and the creativity. As a young producer, we have easier access to debut features than those by more experienced directors. There are two ways of becoming a producer in France; work with the financial and marketing services of large firms and set up one’s own company, or go down the the route of making shorts, which allows you to gain a better mastery of the craft of production. However, this route offers no real advantages when it comes to seeking financing. Currently there is a two-speed change taking place in cinema, with very expensive films and other small budget films, a phenomenon that works against my sector, which is half-way between the highly specialised film and the big commercial film. Aside from the big European and French names, there is little room for broadcasters to seek out new talents. I find that a worrying insofar as creativity is concerned. I’ve produced two hits, but that was a struggle – even if France is privileged in comparison to Germany or the UK where there are major distribution problems with many productions never making it to screens.

Are co-productions one solution?
I took part in ACE (European cinema workshops) and in the French-German meetings organised by Unifrance. Each time, I found partners for my films. For small-scale French comedies, it is difficult to find financing internationally because the genre doesn’t export well. On the other hand, possibilities exist for auteur films, even if it still complicated for the first features. For example, although Giovanna Mezzogiorno featured in the cast of Murs porteurs, the fact that the film is a debut feature has meant that it has been a major obstacle in finding an Italian co-producer. In spite of this, we managed to find co-production partners, German outfit CMW and Switzerland’s Vega.

What are your expectations for your presence at Cannes within the Producers on the Move framework?
To meet professionals with whom we share the same views of Europe is always interesting because we are often focused on making exclusively French productions. Moreover, these meetings allow us to find partners, even if the current situation in France isn’t favourable for the setting up of minority co-productions. The objective of Delante Films is to produce second or third features made by directors from our generation whose first films were a success. With one feature film in 2001, one in 2004, one in 2005 and two in 2006 things are gradually looking up.

See the background