Day 1!

PostED ON OCTOBER 18 2022

Today, the International Classic Film Market got underway, an indispensable forum for the discussion of heritage films. Its Director, Juliette Rajon, tells us how it came about and how it operates.

How did the idea for the International Classic Film Market come about?

Thierry Frémaux's original observation was that there was no market dedicated to classic cinema. As the first editions of the Lumière Film Festival were well attended by professionals, he thought it would be an opportunity to organise a specific market for the heritage sector, whose aim would be to increase the dynamic launched by the festival: to restore even more, to distribute even more, and to reach as many people as possible and on as many platforms as possible - even if during the festival itself, the emphasis is on the movie theatre.

As a result, in 2013, the first edition of the Market was held with 100 accredited participants and eight countries represented. Nine years later, for the 10th edition, there are about 500 accredited participants from over thirty nations. The market has become very international: 65% of the participants are French and 35% are foreign.

The participating professionals can be rights holders, catalogue holders, exhibitors, distributors, technical laboratories, institutions, etcetera. The idea is to provide a forum, a sounding board, to share information and foster commercial networking: the sale and purchase of films, restoration projects, demonstrations of a laboratory's technical know-how, and so on.

Was there a landmark year for the growth of the Market?

We added the word ‘International’ to the name of the Market in 2017 and it was the following year that the number of accredited visitors grew considerably. It took five years for professionals to get into the habit of coming, for the Market to find its relevance and usefulness. What helped it to progress was also the development of a content offer that professionals are now very attached to. We realised that they were keen on debates and discussions on topical issues related to the sector, that there was an interest in working together. 2018 was also marked by the presence of the European institutions: the European Commission came to make several presentations, which confirmed the European scope of the market. And then we benefited from the growth and international recognition of the festival. The Market is an integral part of the festival and would not exist without it.

It is also a time when, in France at least, heritage professions are being officially recognized...

Absolutely. It is the period when cataloguists are joining forces with the Syndicat des Catalogues de Films de Patrimoine (SCFP). We should also mention ‘L'Appel des 85’, an association of DVD publishers who defend their industry with a united voice. The Market was born at the right time: in a period of change, with some very positive aspects, notably the increase in media for the dissemination of heritage, but also with decreasing aid, more regulation, etc. Finding a place where the profession can communicate about these new challenges and opportunities has been very important. They can take the form of official exchanges, such as discussions with the CNC when it curbed its restoration policy, with the end of the ‘Grand Emprunt’ for the Digital Sector. Or more informal discussions between professionals, thanks to the open and agreeable atmosphere that the festival offers.

What is the share of private companies and institutions in the Market's accredited members?

On average, 70% are private sector operators - including big foreign names such as Cohen Media Group and Criterion., and 30% are institutions. There is an increase, however, because we have extended invitations to countries with "low production capacity", as we say in European jargon. This year, archives or film libraries from Albania, Slovakia, Northern Macedonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Malta will be present.

Can you give us examples of transactions that have taken place thanks to the Market?

We don’t have a policy of keeping private or revealing transactions and we don’t have the tendency to follow all the deals concluded during the Market. However, I can give you some recent examples: The worldwide rediscovery of the films of Japanese director Kinuyo Tanaka was made possible by the International Classic Film Market. It was here that Carlotta films for France and Criterion for the United States and Canada acquired the rights from the Japanese studios Nikkatsu and Shochiku. It was also in Lyon that Gaumont revealed its agreement with the distributor Malavida for the major Louis Malle retrospective we are featuring this year. And at the Market, Pathé announced it had decided that films from its catalogue would be entrusted to Splendor. I can also tell you that films such as ‘Black Orpheus’ by Marcel Camus and ‘The Amusement Park’ by George Romero were somehow successfully put back on the market after the announcement of their restoration or their presentation at the Lumière Film Festival.

What will be the highlights of the 2022 edition?

It's an opportunity to assess what has happened over the past ten years, to look back and to look forward. We have identified ten or so themes that have permeated previous editions, while remaining current, and that will be the subject of a presentation by a professional, followed by a debate. For example, there is the question of young people: how do we introduce them to heritage cinema? We will also discuss the European Film Factory project, launched by the French Institute, a collaborative project between several European institutions, which makes European cinematographic heritage available to professors.

And, as tradition dictates, we will continue to invite a "Special Guest". This year, we have asked Gian Luca Farinelli to give us his vision of the industry. It is a symbolic choice: Gian Luca, who directs the Cineteca di Bologna, had already spoken in 2013, the first year of the market. He is someone who has been fighting for heritage cinema for thirty years. Having his point of view on the evolution of things is important.

The guest country is Spain, which has a very rich film history, but whose regional functioning does not facilitate the circulation of works. However, recently, the country has mobilised to restore and screen more films, and it seemed important to us to invite these professionals to talk to us about their projects and their efforts to promote classic cinema.

Finally, we are very happy to receive Manuel Alduy, the Director of Cinema of France Télévisions. It is the first time that France Televisions is participating in the Market, and it will be an opportunity to ask him about the group's strategy with regard to heritage films, both on their digital platform and on their national television networks, about the target audience, and so on.

Can we say that the situation of heritage cinema is in better shape than it was ten years ago?

There are undoubtedly more distribution outlets, but the essential question remains that of media, of event organisation. What tools can be made available to the public so that they are not only aware of the films they can discover, but also want to see them on the different platforms that programme them? The Market, as a resource centre, participates in this essential discussion.

Interviewed by Aurélien Ferenczi