{"id":11399,"date":"2017-07-13T13:13:13","date_gmt":"2017-07-13T11:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ismaelmartin.com\/the-institutional-structure-of-french-short-films\/"},"modified":"2017-07-13T13:13:13","modified_gmt":"2017-07-13T11:13:13","slug":"the-institutional-structure-of-french-short-films","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ismaelmartin.com\/en\/the-institutional-structure-of-french-short-films\/","title":{"rendered":"The institutional structure of French short films"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of June, an article on the situation of Spanish cinema compared to French cinema<\/a> was published in the digital edition of El Confidencial<\/strong>. This article compares macro production figures and the budgets allocated to film institutes in both countries. <\/p>\n

In these cases, I like to focus especially on the small details<\/a>; this article reminded me of the structure of institutions dedicated to short films in France<\/strong>, and the differences, not only with Spain, but with the rest of the world.<\/p>\n

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to meet team members from both L’Agence Du Court M\u00e9trage<\/strong> and Unifrance<\/strong>. Simply hearing them talk about cinema in France is very revealing of the conceptual differences we have, which translate into a way of understanding cinema and support the entire legislative and institutional framework, including that of short films. <\/p>\n

To begin with, in France there are three major institutions working for short films at a national level<\/strong>: the Centre National du Cin\u00e9ma et de l\u2019Image Anim\u00e9e, the CNC<\/strong> (equivalent to the ICAA), Unifrance<\/strong>, and L’Agence Du Court M\u00e9trage<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The CNC<\/strong><\/a> has staff dedicated to short films and its own section on the website<\/a>, where current news and grants for both production and distribution are published. Furthermore, reports on the production and dissemination of French short films<\/strong> in their own country are prepared every year. In 2015, I already spoke about one of these reports<\/a> upon my return from the Clermont-Ferrand Market. <\/p>\n

In summary, the CNC is responsible for grants and the oversight of short film production<\/strong>; they issue both the visa d’exploitation<\/em> (the equivalent of the ICAA rating license) and the d\u00e9p\u00f4t l\u00e9gal<\/em> (legal deposit) for the preservation of film material.<\/p>\n

The international dissemination of French short films is handled by Unifrance<\/strong>, which has an exclusive department consisting of three people<\/a>. This department promotes French short films to international festivals, programmers, and distributors. In 2015 alone, this department collaborated with 135 festivals held in 38 different countries, made 2,068 entries, and granted more than 84 promotion subsidies. These data are collected in a report that can be downloaded from their own website<\/a>. <\/p>\n

They have also created a platform called Short Film Gallery<\/strong>, with 2,128 short films available for private viewing. Additionally, like the CNC, short films have their own space on the Unifrance website<\/a>, with news, trailers, photographs, and access to the short film viewing platform. <\/p>\n

While the Unifrance department’s main objective is the international dissemination of French short films, L’Agence Du Court M\u00e9trage<\/a> works with short films within France<\/strong>. However, it also manages international sales and programs French short film screenings, both outside and within France. <\/p>\n

The Agency is an association created by French film professionals in 1983. It is funded by contributions from the CNC and ongoing projects. They have a team of 27 people, organized into several departments: <\/p>\n