France

[FR] New film exploitation regulations

IRIS 2022-5:1/12

Amélie Blocman

Légipresse

Under two decrees adopted on 25 February and 10 March 2022, the regulatory part of the French Code du cinéma et de l'image animée (Cinema and Animated Image Code) and Article 2 of Decree no. 90-66 of 17 January 1990 defining cinematographic works within the meaning of the code were amended.

The decree of 25 February 2022 modernises the work of the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image – CNC), safeguards the legal mechanism for the payment of fees for managing the Registres du cinéma et de l'audiovisuel (Film and audiovisual registers – RCA) and creates a more up-to-date system for submitting the relevant documentation.

The decree also brings the regulations on local film screenings into line with new cinema programming and promotes the distribution of cultural content. It clarifies the approval system for new cinemas and describes the conditions in which the CNC president can grant approval to cinemas that, on account of architectural or economic constraints, are unable to meet the technical requirements that would normally apply. It guarantees transparency of costs related to the management of the subscription scheme that gives cinema-goers unlimited access to film screenings. It also makes provision for a faster procedure for granting exemptions from the video film exploitation window. Finally, it provides some detail on the rules to protect public access to cinematographic and audiovisual works laid down in Article 30 of the Law of 25 October 2021 on the regulation and protection of access to cultural works in the digital age. Finally, the decree simplifies the working procedures of the Commission du contrôle de la réglementation (Regulation Control Committee).

The decree of 10 March 2022 supplements Decree no. 2022-256 of 25 February 2022, firstly by modernising the formal process for the submission of the documents required to manage the film and audiovisual registers, which can now be filed online. It enhances the quality of the information contained in the weekly income declaration provided by cinema operators by requiring details of each individual screening rather than each day. It replaces articles that had become obsolete in the regulations applicable to the classification of cinemas as art house venues. It adapts the definition of the cinema release date in relation to the exceptional screenings permitted under the decree of 25 February 2022. The decree also abolishes the deadline for submission of requests for exemption from the video film exploitation window.

Finally, the decree completes the regulatory framework for the protection of public access to cinematographic and audiovisual works by specifying the information that must be submitted to the Minister of Culture in relation to the transfer of catalogues of such works.