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Besson’s golden touch

French cinema scores record-breaking year.

by Richard Mowe

Isabelle Giordano, Unifrance director general, introduces director / producer Luc Besson at the 17th Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris Photo: Richard Mowe

French movie mogul Luc Besson was described as “Man of the Year” by Unifrance director-general Isabelle Giordano, a former Madame Cinéma for the TV Channel Canal Plus when she and the promotional organisation’s president, Jean-Paul Salomé, unveiled good news figures for French films over the last year.

At a Parisian soirée held in the restored surrounds of the Carreau de Temple, an old market building designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Tower fame) it was announced last night (16 January) that French films scored their second best ever year outside France taking more than 768 million dollars at the international box office or 111 million admissions.

Isabelle Girodano, Unifrance general director and president Jean-Paul Salomé Photo: Richard Mowe

Besson’s science fiction actioner Lucy with Scarlett Johansson (premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in August) was partly responsible for the upsurge, breaking all records for a French film overseas, it was announced as part of the 17th Rendez-vous with French Cinema. In a surprise recorded message from Besson’s Los Angeles star, Johansson praised the director’s quest for “perfectionism,” a trait that drew her to the project. “Luc has a clear idea of what he wants and will stop at nothing to get it, but in a good way,” she said.

The domestic comedy Serial Bad Weddings (Qu'est-Ce Qu'on A Fait Au Bon Dieu) with Christian Clavier, dealing with a Catholic couple whose life turns upside down when their four daughters marry men from different races and religions, was also a strong performer, coupled with Christophe Gans’ remake of Beauty And The Beast with Vincent Cassell and Lea Seydoux.

The previous year Luc Besson-produced thriller Taken 2 stimulated strong results and this year’s third in the franchise with Liam Neeson is expected to figure prominently in next year’s results.

The formula of a French produced title in English with Hollywood stars such as Johannson or Neeson seems to provide a fail-safe fillip on the global arena for le cinéma Français, observed Salomé. He noted that on average over the past ten years French films have generated more ticket sales outside France than on their home turf.

70 French films or co-productions scored more than 100,000 admissions abroad, against an average of 56 since 2000. In terms of markets, 2014 saw a new record for ticket sales in China with eight releases chalking up 17 million-plus box office sales. In both admissions and box office receipts, China is now France’s second-biggest global market, its 91 million dollar box office grosses for Gallic fare only bettered by 147.6 million dollars from the United States and English-speaking Canada. Germany ranked third with a total 76 million dollars gross for French films.

Lucky Lucy: Director / producer Luc Besson whose sci-fi actioner gave a big boost to the French film industry.

The one blot on the landscape was the UK where French films continued to face an “alarming situation” with fewer titles finding releases and on increasingly fewer copies.

Meanwhile Giordano pointed to further reasons for Gallic pride in the Oscar nominations. French actress Marion Cotillard has received her second Oscar nomination for best actress in seven years for her role in the film Two Days, One Night directed by Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, while Timbuktu (directed by Abderrahmane Sissako) received a nod in the foreign language film category while part French produced The Salt Of the Earth, by Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders, figures in the documentary section.

Giordano underlined that cinema is one of the few places were people despite all their differences (particularly pertinent in these difficult times) could come together for a shared experience.

Salomé noted that the results were justification for Europe’s cultural exception with cultural diversity driving the buoyant box office results. The challenges remained in ensuring that arthouse titles were nurtured and could find their place alongside the blockbusters. He said: “There are still many opportunities to take le cinéma Français to the next level.” Watch this space.

Top Ten 2014

(French productions abroad)