Dominique Boutonnat (CNC): “The complementarity of screens is not a threat to cinema”

The president of the National Center for Cinematography and the Animated Image considers, in an interview with the “world”, that there are not too many films produced in France since the demand for works explodes . It is important in his eyes to create more bridges between the different diffusion channels.

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The president of the National Center for Cinematography and Animated Image (CNC) comes out of his silence on the occasion of the opening, Tuesday, May 17, of the 75 e festival de Cannes . He believes that the changes in the use of spectators have accentuated during the pandemic with the competition of the platforms. He deplores “the too fast turnover of indoor films” and believes that operators will have to commit to a diversity of programming.

The Nanterre prosecution required, on April 25, your Referral to the Correctional Court for Sexual Assault on your godson. Despite this current legal affair since 2020 and while your mandate expires on July 23, why did you decided to continue to chair the CNC?

The only subject is the continuity and efficiency of the service provided by the CNC. However, these last fifteen months, I believe that efficiency was there: it is the professionals themselves who say it. For the rest, it is a personal affair and I want to reaffirm my total innocence and my confidence in justice.

What is the assessment of the sector after more than two years of pandemic? Did the aids allow the shock?

Everything could have collapsed. We had not experienced such a crisis since the Second World War. Our double challenge consisted in supporting our industry, which represents 1 % of GDP in France, with all those who work there, and in particular artists, and to protect our ability to create, our cultural sovereignty. This is why, alongside the transversal measures of the State, the CNC has set up sectoral aid specific to cinema of 310 million euros to compensate for the emergency and organize the revival, designed and calibrated as close as possible to needs of the sector thanks to our proximity to him. For example, we are the only country in the world where filming was able to leave in May 2020, faster and better than elsewhere, thanks to an innovative insurance system co -financed by the State and private insurers. No bankruptcy has been deplored. Watch the number of French films selected in Cannes this year: 46 all sections combined!

But, at the same time, we led substantive reforms, essential to develop our model and secure its future in the long term. Platforms now have investment obligations in French cinema and audiovisual, such as television channels. It is a historical success and the result is unique in the world!

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