French cinema: who finances what?

Europe 1 with AFP 10:39 am, May 31, 2023

The speech of the Palme d'Or Justine Triet, accusing the government of wanting to "break the cultural exception" at the closing of the 76th Cannes Film Festival, revived the debate on the financing of French cinema. A look back at a virtuous and complex system.

What funding?

"Whatever you think of Justine Triet's words, stop talking about public money and find out about the CNC and its financing," Pierre Lescure, the former president of the Cannes Film Festival, said Monday on Twitter. Because the aid for the cinema does not come from taxes but mainly from taxes on the price of admissions and advertising revenues of television channels.

Thus, a little more than 10% of a cinema ticket (French or foreign film) goes to the National Centre for Cinema and Moving Image (CNC), as does the tax paid by the channels according to their advertising revenues, which represents the largest share of the CNC's budget (70% in 2022).

Television channels are also obliged to invest in cinema through co-productions or the purchase of broadcasting rights. Faced with the rise of streaming, a tax on subscriptions, such as Netflix or Amazon Prime, has been put in place. Since 2021, these platforms must also devote 20 to 25% of their turnover in France to financing the production of audiovisual works (series, fiction, live performance, theatre, etc.) and cinematographic works. A contribution considered insufficient by several French audiovisual production associations.

What help?

In 2022, the CNC redistributed €291 million in aid for cinema (aid for creation, aid for production, aid for the dissemination of works and aid for the restoration of cinematographic heritage).

According to a virtuous mechanism, successful films partly finance the others, through initial production aid.

An essential link in French cultural policy, this system of advance on receipts is celebrating its sixtyth anniversary. The system was set up in 1959 by the Minister of Culture André Malraux.

The allocation of advances on receipts is decided after the opinion of commissions composed of recognized personalities of the profession (directors, scriptwriters, producers, technicians). Each year, about sixty films benefit from it, for an average amount of 500,000 euros, which was the case for Justine Triet and "Anatomy of a Fall", which won the Palme d'Or. These advances are repayable according to the success of the film.

Depending on their cultural policy, regional councils may also offer production aid for films shot on site. In addition, the film tax credit allows a production company to deduct from its taxation 30% of the cost of producing a film. Last year, 157 films benefited. Filming in France is also favored.

The CNC also supports cinema operators with equipment, modernization or theatre creation.

What fears?

There is "a slow shift towards the idea that we must think about (the) profitability of films," said Justine Triet, after her uncompromising and very anti-government speech in Cannes. "Obviously, in my position, I have a great facility to finance my films, but I see around me that, for people who start, smaller productions, it is more difficult."

Since 2019, the community has been concerned about a report by Dominique Boutonnat, who has since become the head of the CNC, on film financing, advocating developing the share of the private sector in addition to existing public support.

In a statement on Tuesday, the French Society of Directors (SRF) expressed "unreservedly" its support for the award-winning director. "Our virtuous system of support for cinema needs to be protected. Today, competitiveness and profitability are unfortunately essential in favor of films likely to make the most admissions," Rosalie Brun, general delegate of the SRF, told AFP.

"Filmmakers need to be able to create without worrying about the economic objective. We've been sounding the alarm for a long time."