France

[FR] Production Conditions for Cinematographic Films

IRIS 1998-5:1/21

Bertrand Delcros

Radio France

Virtually no films are produced nowadays without investment by encrypted or unencrypted television channels. The risk is that the cinema is forced to submit to the demands of television. In order to preserve everything that makes the cinema the "seventh art", Decrees in 1990 and 1995 established the conditions for the independence of film producers as regards the television channels. These Decrees have been considered insufficient, and draft amendments have been submitted to the CSA (Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel - the French media authority) for its opinion. The CSA considered that the independence of film producers should be based on straightforward, firm principles which should be enforced by the regulatory body. This body, i.e. the CSA, felt there should be a definition of a minimum threshold for independent production, identical for all television channels. The other remarks made by the CSA concern the actual definition of an independent production company and the level of involvement of broadcasters in independent production companies. It will be necessary to look into the relevance of these ideas when the decree is adopted by the Government; IRIS will report on this in due course.