{"id":534207,"date":"2025-10-28T23:04:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T23:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/534207\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T23:04:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T23:04:20","slug":"cnc-president-on-frances-role-in-oscar-race-and-international-cinema","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/534207\/","title":{"rendered":"CNC President on France&#8217;s Role in Oscar Race and international cinema"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tPossibly the most powerful figure in French cinema, <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/gaetan-bruel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ga\u00ebtan Bruel<\/a>, who became the youngest president of the National Film Board (<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/cnc\/\" id=\"auto-tag_cnc\" data-tag=\"cnc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNC<\/a>) earlier this year at the age of 37, is on a mission to build alliances with American filmmakers, guilds and streamers. Bruel \u2013 who lived in New York for several years until 2023 as the former head of French Cultural Services, a division of the French Embassy \u2014 is making his first official trip to the U.S. under his new role this week, to take part in <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/the-american-french-film-festival\/\" id=\"auto-tag_the-american-french-film-festival\" data-tag=\"the-american-french-film-festival\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The American French Film Festival<\/a> (TAFF) which kicks off today (Oct. 28). <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tIn an interview with Variety on the eve of his departure for L.A. to attend TAFF, Bruel discussed the increasingly large role of France in international cinema, which is reflected in the large number of French co-productions among the official Oscar submissions, including this year\u2019s French Oscar candidate, Jafar Panahi\u2019s Palme d\u2019Or-winning \u201cIt Was Just an Accident.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tBruel, who previously worked closely with the CNC to promote French talent in America and helped\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2021\/film\/entertainment-industry\/france-emily-in-paris-lupin-gagarine-streamers-1235141702\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">create Villa Albertine,<\/a>\u00a0a U.S. residency program for French creatives, also talked about his mandate to bolster the profile of France as a top filming destination for American filmmakers tackling mid-budgeted, ambitious projects, on the heels of <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/jim-jarmusch\/\" id=\"auto-tag_jim-jarmusch\" data-tag=\"jim-jarmusch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim Jarmusch<\/a>\u2018s Golden Lion-winning \u201cMother Father Sister Brother,\u201d among others. He also addressed U.S. President Trump\u2019s threat of imposing tariffs on movies produced outside of France; and the country\u2019s evolving relationship with streamers; as well as the importance of its windowing model to protect theaters and independent film financing at a crucial time when \u201call premium creative models in the moving-image space are being disrupted by low-cost ones powered by AI, free platforms, and new forms of piracy.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>Every year, France is behind so many movies submitted for the international feature film category at the Oscars. How many of them are co-produced by France this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThis year, nearly one-third of the films submitted for the International Feature Film category were co-produced with France, and more than 20% received support from the CNC. Out of 86 submissions, 27 were French co-productions and 19 benefited from CNC funding \u2014 Kleber Mendon\u00e7a Filho\u2019s \u201cThe Secret Agent,\u201d Diego C\u00e9spedes\u2019s \u201cThe Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,\u201d Oliver Laxe\u2019s \u201cSirat,\u201d Laszlo N\u00e9m\u00e8s\u2019s \u201cOrphan,\u201d Maryam Touzani\u2019s \u201cCalle Malaga,\u201d Tarik Saleh\u2019s \u201cEagles of the Republic\u201d, Joachim Trier\u2019s \u201cSentimental Value,\u201d among many others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>France\u2019s Oscar committee chose Jafar Panahi\u2019s Palme d\u2019Or winning film \u201cIt Was Just an Accident\u201d which triggered some criticism in some French circles because it\u2019s a Persian-language film shot with Iranian actors. What\u2019s your position on that issue?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tI saw zero controversy. I just saw attempts at controversy. This is not the first time that France has chosen a film by a foreign director to represent it in this category. \u201cMustang\u201d in 2016, directed by Turkish director Deniz Gamze-Erguven. The following year, \u201cElle,\u201d by Paul Verhoeven, who is Dutch. And looking beyond France, there are many precedents: \u201cThe Seed of the Sacred Fig\u201d by Mohammad Rasoulof, submitted by Germany last year; \u201cAmour\u201d by Michael Haneke, a French film that represented Austria; or \u201cPerfect Days\u201d by Wim Wenders, which was Japan\u2019s submission. \u201cThis Was Just an Accident\u201d fully meets the Academy\u2019s criteria. It is a French co-production that could not have been realized without the decisive contribution of France and its production ecosystem. This film grew out of a long-standing collaboration between French producer Philippe Martin and Jafar Panahi who had previously worked together on a short film. The trust between them is a powerful symbol of the confidence that France places in the world\u2019s greatest filmmakers, especially those who face threats or censorship in their own countries. But before being a film born of extraordinary circumstances, it is, quite simply, an extraordinary film. That is why the independent selecting committee decided that it was the best positioned to win the Oscar after the Palme d\u2019Or, and France is extremely proud to stand behind it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>Why is France playing an increasingly active role in international cinema today?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tIn France, we place equal faith in French cinema and in a universal idea of cinema. That is why we choose to support French talent first and foremost, but also a strong ecosystem of production, distribution and international sales that helps sustain cinema around the world. This ranges from Jafar Panahi, who worked with Philippe Martin, to Brad Pitt whose company Plan B \u2014 behind \u201cF1\u201d \u2014 is now part of Mediawan, the group founded by Pierre-Antoine Capton. At Cannes this year, among the eight films that received awards, one was French and five had been supported by the Aide au Cin\u00e9ma du Monde. The \u201cACM\u201d is the largest co-production fund in the world, with a budget of \u20ac7 million, and the only one that provides up to \u20ac300,000 per project. The ACM supported 17 films in the race for the International Feature Film category this year, including Panahi\u2019s. We\u2019re in a process of increasing the amount of the fund for next year. It\u2019s a critical moment for cinema, and France stands with those who uphold its highest ideals worldwide. At a time when we so often speak of art but think mostly in terms of industry, we owe it to filmmakers like Jafar Panahi to stay true to what cinema truly is.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>Streaming services tend to view films like audiovisual product and they\u2019re lobbying to launch them on their platform in France as close as possible to their theatrical release. That won\u2019t happen anytime soon I\u2019m guessing?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tYou can\u2019t have your cake and eat it too. You can\u2019t hope for a strong theatrical market if you don\u2019t stand up for it. Let\u2019s not ask the impossible of movie theaters \u2014 to be both desirable and distinctive while their efforts are undermined by an all-too-brief window of exclusivity. I\u2019m sometimes told it\u2019s easier to release a film in Germany. But the German market is only half the size of France\u2019s, even though Germany has a larger population. France is the third-largest box office after the United States and China, even though it ranks only seventh in economic power and twenty-third in population. Cinema is part of France\u2019s DNA \u2014 and that\u2019s what makes the French market one of the most resilient in the world amid the current decline in theater attendance. In countries where films have been reduced to mere by-products of the wider audiovisual industry, cinema itself faces an existential threat. Korea is a striking example \u2014 once seen as a driving force. When the focus shifts solely to the industrial dimension, or when trade agreements undermine cinema \u2014 as happened with the 2006 U.S.\u2014Korea accords \u2014 cinema risks being swept away entirely. Today, cinema attendance has dropped by 40% worldwide between 2019 and 2024, but in Korea, the decline is even steeper \u2014 around 60%. In 2019, the country recorded 220 million admissions; this year, it may fall below 100 million. The situation in film production is even more alarming: output has shrunk fivefold over the same period, as investors have lost confidence in the theatrical market. As a result, in 2024 Korea saw a record 228 re-releases of older films, simply to fill screens \u2014 many of which are now being converted into religious halls or even indoor hiking spaces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>You\u2019ve mentioned before that streaming platforms can be strategic allies of cinema. How would that work in a regulated market like France? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tPreserving a balanced window of theatrical exclusivity doesn\u2019t mean that streaming platforms aren\u2019t welcome in this market \u2014 quite the opposite. In fact, the rivalry between theaters and platforms, between the big screen and the small screen, belongs to the 2010s and now feels increasingly outdated. We are entering a new paradigm: today, I do think streaming platforms and the film world can work hand-in-hand \u2014 as long as they recognize the need to protect theaters. When you look at all the studies about young people\u2019s viewing habits that have come out in the last three years, you notice that the competition is no longer primarily between streaming competing and cinemas, nor is it even between video games and streaming. There is a shift in audiences towards social media and free platforms, and it affects everyone, and especially streaming streamers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>Do you view microdrama as a worrying trend that could hurt moviegoing? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t I\u2019ve just returned from a trip to Korea, where a full season of 60 two-minute episodes costs around $200,000 to produce. That\u2019s the going rate for a microdrama today. In France, this format has exploded across social media over the summer: each episode is like a two-minute ad \u2014 you click, you watch, and you\u2019re sent to a dedicated platform. In China, the microdrama market actually surpassed theatrical box office last year \u2014 despite the country having 94,000 cinema screens. This may sound like good news for some, who see clear financial opportunities in it, but for the industry as a whole \u2014 and for audiences \u2014 the rise of microdrama, which epitomizes a low-cost content model, is not encouraging news. Our societies are increasingly endangered by our relationship with screens. We\u2019ve never spent so much time in front of them \u2014 and yet, paradoxically, never spent so little time truly watching what they show.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>Why do you think most streaming services are perceiving theaters differently today?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tTheatrical releases create value \u2014 community, cultural conversation, media resonance, and revenue \u2014 in ways that streaming platforms alone have never managed to generate. But there\u2019s more. Streamers and theaters now face a common threat. According to Deloitte\u2019s latest\u00a0\u201cTech Trends\u201d report, 57% of young people prefer watching video content on free or social platforms over every other form of audiovisual experience \u2014 cinema, streaming, and gaming combined. Even video games are under pressure: we are seeing a generation of gamers smaller than the one before, as audiences increasingly choose to watch a handful of players on YouTube or Twitch rather than play themselves. The reality is that all premium creative models in the moving-image space are being disrupted by low-cost ones, powered by AI, free platforms, and new forms of piracy. Even YouTube, which appears triumphant today, cannot be entirely confident about its future as we witness the rise of AI. In this landscape, facing a shared threat, streamers and theaters have more in common than they think, starting with their most precious asset: regular audiences. Studies show that the more streaming subscriptions people have, the more often they go to the cinema, and vice versa. That\u2019s precisely what both streamers and theaters need most: audiences who choose to watch films and series over other forms of video content. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>There\u2019s actually been alliances formed in France between streaming services and TV groups.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tYes, absolutely. The recent distribution deals between TF1 and Netflix, and between France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions and Amazon Prime Video, are good news for both cinema and series. When the value of linear broadcasting declines sharply, it becomes essential to forge alliances with native digital players \u2014 but these platforms, in turn, have much to learn from the advertising expertise of strong private broadcasters, and from the audience engagement cultivated by major public ones. It shows once again that different models are not necessarily in opposition \u2014 and that those who thrive on framing divisions may, in the end, find themselves standing alone. I\u2019m not making a political point here.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>But Netflix and Amazon Prime Video\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2025\/film\/global\/netflix-lodges-appeal-france-council-of-state-windowing-1236366953\/\">have also lodged an appeal to the France\u2019s Council of State\u00a0<\/a>over windowing rules which force them to wait 15 to 17 months to access films after their theatrical release.<\/strong> <strong>What\u2019s the latest with that? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tTheir complaint doesn\u2019t target the rules themselves, but rather a specific extension that has not yet met their request to move up in the release window \u2014 it\u2019s quite different. They are not questioning the system as a whole \u2014 at least not in France, where their legal approach remains less aggressive than in other parts of Europe. From my understanding, their aim is to advance the discussion about their own positioning within the French release window system. What they dispute is the temporary outcome of a specific negotiation with industry organizations, which have not yet responded to their proposal \u2014 a negotiation that is entirely theirs to pursue. I would note that Disney+ has successfully completed such a negotiation, with its window shortened from 17 months to 9 months in exchange for additional investment in French cinema. That alone shows that the discussion remains open.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>Don\u2019t you think that the French windowing system is increasingly obsolete?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tOn the contrary, I believe it is more relevant than ever. Our windowing system \u2014 which Tom Rothman, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures, recently praised \u2014 serves two essential purposes. The first, as I\u2019ve already mentioned, is to protect theaters during the crucial first weeks of release. In France, films benefit from a four-month exclusive theatrical window. As a direct result, France has the densest network of theaters in the world: 90% of the population lives less than thirty minutes from a theater, and for the remaining 10%, they are itinerant circuits ensuring that no region becomes a \u201ccinema desert\u201d. This is a major reason why cinema remains such a deeply rooted part of everyday life in France. Every village wants to have its school, its bakery \u2014 and its cinema! The second purpose is to secure film financing through a clearly defined sequence of exclusive windows. Since filmmaking is both costly and complex, the French model structures a film\u2019s life cycle to reflect levels of investment \u2014 allowing those who contribute the most to appear earliest in the chronology, and those who follow to participate proportionally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>The French box office has suffered in 2025. It\u2019s been down compared with last year. What happened in your opinion?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tWe\u2019ve just come off a strong year in 2024, with 182 million admissions \u2014 a drop of only 15% compared to 2019, while global theatrical attendance declined by 40% over the same period. We had an excellent slate of films, including French productions, which captured a 44% market share \u2014 twice Italy\u2019s 22%, and six times the UK\u2019s 7%. This shows that our model continues to produce films that truly resonate with audiences. The same is true for television: last year, 100% of the highest-rated prime-time dramas were French. That said, the beginning of this year has been more challenging, as we\u2019ve had a double effect from lower output of American and French films. So our message to Hollywood is simple: send us more films \u2014 great films, and a greater variety of them! And the same goes for French producers. France isn\u2019t just a country accustomed to cinema \u2014 it\u2019s a country passionate about it. It\u2019s in the DNA of the French to go to the movies whenever there are films they want to see. We just need those films to exist. Having said that, I\u2019m working on a plan to bring admissions back up to 200 million \u2014 close to our pre-pandemic level.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>How do you plan to achieve that goal of getting moviegoing back to 200 million admissions in the next couple years?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tFirst, we must continue to offer a genuine diversity of films, from France and beyond, for every audience and every taste. In this respect, France is one of the few countries capable of producing such a wide range of cinema: dramas, comedies, historical epics, action and adventure films, romantic comedies, thrillers, and genre films\u2026 Second, we must keep protecting and supporting our movie theaters. We feel very strongly that cinemas are local cultural landmarks, deeply rooted in the daily life of our communities. Third, we need to be far more proactive in what we call in France\u00a0\u00e9ducation aux images\u00a0\u2014 film literacy, or education to screens through cinema. For forty years, a national program has enabled 80,000 teachers to take 2 million students \u2014 from kindergarten through high school \u2014 to the cinema three times a year. Every study confirms its extraordinary impact. When you give a six-year-old the experience of the big screen, you can spark an emotion that lasts a lifetime. Exhibitors love it, too, because it benefits them in both the short and long term. These screenings take place when theaters are least busy, with reduced tickets funded by the state and local authorities \u2014 and in the long run, those children become their audiences of tomorrow. Today, only 15% of our young people experience this program each year. Our goal is to raise that to 30% in the next few years \u2014 and ultimately, to reach every child in France.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>You\u2019re about to travel to the U.S. on your first official visit there since you took the helm of the CNC. Why was it important for the CNC to become a partner of TAFF?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tI\u2019m very happy to be back in the United States for the first time since becoming President of the CNC. I spent four years in New York in my previous role and often traveled to Los Angeles, where I had a team and established a branch of Villa Albertine \u2014 France\u2019s network of creative residencies I created across the United States. I\u2019ve come to Los Angeles first and foremost for the TAFFF, which has been running since 1997. Its name has evolved over time, but its core mission remains the same: to promote French cinema in the United States. In Europe, American films account for 60% of the box office, while European films represent barely 1% of the U.S. box office \u2014 and, of course, France\u2019s share is even smaller. By joining forces with the DGA, the MPA, the WGA, and the SACEM \u2014 the French society of authors, composers and music publishers \u2014 which are behind the TAFF, the CNC, together with Unifrance, aims to strengthen connections between our industries and foster in-depth dialogue on the major challenges we face today. I personally believe that our ties are stronger than political stances or legal disputes. When France and the United States talk about cinema, it\u2019s not just two countries discussing business or creative interests \u2014 it\u2019s the two nations that invented cinema and shared it with the world, coming together to help shape its future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>Besides showcasing French movies and series, I know you\u2019re also looking to promote French locations and facilities to American producers at TAFF.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tIn just a few years, there was a lot of change in France. The France of today is no longer the one you once knew \u2014 the country you went to for a holiday after a film shoot, rather than a place to actually make one. Our strengths now go far beyond our tax incentive \u2014 though it remains one of the most attractive in the world, offering up to a 40% credit with no annual cap. Five years ago, President Macron launched an ambitious plan,\u00a0\u201cFrance 2030,\u201d to double our training and production capacity. That plan is now nearing completion, and the transformation it has brought is already remarkable. As part of this year\u2019s TAFF, we\u2019ll highlight two case studies that embody this renewal:\u00a0\u201cHead of State,\u201d one of Amazon Prime\u2019s biggest global hits, which was largely filmed in France, and\u00a0\u201cFather Mother Sister Brother,\u201d winner of the Golden Lion. Jim Jarmusch will also join us to share his experience shooting in France.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>You\u2019ll also talk about how France can bring financial support to independent American cinema besides hosting shoots, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tIn recent years, the sustainability of mid-budget dramas has become an existential issue in the United States. Finding a viable economic model for these films \u2014 which are neither the blockbusters sought after by platforms nor small independent productions, but ambitious works that aim to reach a wide audience \u2014 has become increasingly complex. France firmly believes in these films. They are precisely the kind of projects we\u2019ve been welcoming recently \u2014 and we hope to see more in the years ahead. I\u2019m thinking of\u00a0\u201cThe Substance,\u201d made for \u20ac22 million, and\u00a0\u201cEmilia Perez,\u201d for \u20ac26 million \u2014 figures my American friends never believe when I mention them, assuming the budgets were at least twice as high. To put it another way, our goal is not to attract the next\u00a0Marvel\u00a0productions, but to be the preferred partner of American independent cinema. Jim Jarmusch \u2014 whose latest film was partly shot in Paris \u2014 embodies this vision perfectly, and I\u2019m delighted that he\u2019s expressed his desire to work even more closely with France in the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>President Trump has recently threatened to put in place tariffs on films produced overseas. What do you think of that threat and do you anticipate that it will refrain some producers from coming to France?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tIt seems to me that the logic behind this statement applies more to the car industry than to the film industry \u2014 but since it\u2019s the second time we\u2019ve heard it, no one is taking it lightly. It comes with real risks: American professionals could find themselves caught between an impossible financial equation and potential retaliatory measures. I completely understand Michael Mann\u2019s position when he says, \u201cI want to shoot in Los Angeles \u2014 you have to help me make that possible.\u201d This isn\u2019t about taxing films; it\u2019s about improving tax incentives, and ideally creating one at the federal level. From France\u2019s perspective, again, we\u2019re not trying to attract the next\u00a0\u201cAvengers\u201d\u00a0or\u00a0\u201cSpider-Man.\u201d Rather, we just believe there are specific projects for which shooting in France makes perfect sense \u2014 and we\u2019re working hard to make that both technically and financially appealing. It\u2019s also worth noting that 80% of our film production remains national. And it\u2019s precisely by strengthening the international reach of our domestic production that we\u2019ve raised our crews to world-class standards \u2014 without relying solely on projects from abroad. In other words, the unique vitality of our homegrown production ensures a healthy, resilient, and dynamic environment for international shoots, with consistently high activity levels regardless of market fluctuations. And we have some of the very best line producers in the world. You should try them!<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>Tilly Norwood crystallized a lot of fears around AI in the U.S. earlier this month. But it seems that there isn\u2019t that much concern over AI in France. Why is that do you think?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe reason is simple. When you\u2019re a market like France \u2014 not the United States \u2014 being competitive has always been an obsession. It goes back to the\u00a0\u201cNouvelle Vague,\u201d when filmmakers learned to create masterpieces on a shoestring budget. That\u2019s why, in France, we didn\u2019t wait for AI to learn how to do more with less \u2014 it\u2019s been our hallmark since the 1950s. So when people in the U.S. were talking excitedly about OpenAI, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s a revolution \u2014 we can now make an animated film for only $30 million,\u201d it made us smile. We made\u00a0\u201cFlow,\u201d with Latvian partners, for under $4 million \u2014 and it won an Oscar. There\u2019s no AI in\u00a0\u201cFlow,\u201d yet it made animation history. The second reason is that we\u2019re not AI-averse \u2014 quite the opposite. The question isn\u2019t whether we\u2019re for or against it; it\u2019s already here. What matters is embracing it fully, but with transparency and responsibility \u2014 so that we don\u2019t lose ourselves in the process. Otherwise, the risk we face is nothing less than the collapse of our creative model.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<strong>Can you elaborate on the model collapse and the reason why you view it as the biggest danger with AI?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tHave you seen \u201cThe Substance\u201d? If we fail to keep creators at the heart of creation, and let AI content feed endlessly on itself, we\u2019ll inevitably end up with increasingly repetitive models \u2014 and images that all look the same. In that sense, AI in cinema could well become like the monster in\u00a0The Substance. It\u2019s tempting. We want to try it. It promises youth, perfection, and infinite productivity \u2014 just as\u00a0The Substance\u00a0promised an improved, half-dead version of Elisabeth Sparkle. But we know how that story ends. The creature we believe we can control ends up devouring its model \u2014 bursting through its Botoxed seams, spawning ever more grotesque copies of itself. That is the danger of generative AI: once it begins feeding on its own output, it distorts, collapses inward, and turns into emptiness. So once again, I believe that today \u2014 and this is the real global battle \u2014 there are those who still believe in cinema, and those who no longer do. Those who remember that cinema is, first and foremost, an art form \u2014 and those who are content to see it merely as another audiovisual sub-product. The former \u2014 those who still believe in cinema \u2014 understand what AI can offer, but they also know that safeguards are essential. Under those conditions, cinema may yet enter a new creative era \u2014 surviving the streaming age just as it survived the TV and VHS revolutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Possibly the most powerful figure in French cinema, Ga\u00ebtan Bruel, who became the youngest president of the National&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":534208,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[40841,2000,299,36,47000,172766,172767],"class_list":{"0":"post-534207","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-cnc","9":"tag-eu","10":"tag-europe","11":"tag-france","12":"tag-gaetan-bruel","13":"tag-jim-jarmusch","14":"tag-the-american-french-film-festival"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115454296928937583","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=534207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=534207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=534207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=534207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}