France

[FR] CNC announces EUR 90 million of new funding for cinemas, film production and distribution

IRIS 2021-8:1/13

Amélie Blocman

Légipresse

On 29 July, the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image – CNC) adopted eight new support measures designed to stimulate film exploitation, production and distribution, thanks to one-off state funding totalling EUR 90 million. The CNC president commented, "The public authorities are fully aware of the health pass’s impact on cinema attendance and the entire film industry. The CNC will be watching how the situation develops very closely, so we can ensure the health pass is successfully implemented while, at the same time, supporting the recovery."

Cinemas will therefore be allocated EUR 59.3 million of new funds to offset the loss of income caused by their enforced closure that ended on 19 May and the health restrictions that were imposed when they reopened (reduced numbers and curfews), and to support the sector’s economic recovery. The funding will cover the fixed costs of the large cinema chains and provide one-off grants to the most vulnerable cinemas, while all cinemas will receive cross-sector compensation for their loss of income.

Meanwhile, film producers will receive EUR 16.7 million of new funding in addition to the support measures already in place, while an unprecedented offer of further assistance has been made to companies that produced at least one film whose exploitation or production was disrupted by the health crisis, creating extra costs that exceeded the cross-sector support already provided by the state.

Film distributors, on the other hand, will receive EUR 14 million of new funding in the form of greater support for cinema releases until spring 2022 and a selective fund for the most vulnerable companies.

Finally, in order to support the success of the pass Culture (culture pass), funding for measures to promote film among young people will be made available for programming initiatives, events and cinema communication aimed at 15- to 25-year-olds.

Sector representatives and the ministers of culture and the economy agreed to review the situation on 30 August.