PARIS -- In 2001, three of France's most respected independent producers -- Humbert Balsan, Paolo Branco and Gilles Sandoz -- formed a distribution alliance called Pirates.
Five years later, Balsan tragically has committed suicide, his company's financial troubles believed to have contributed to his worries; Branco's company, Gemini Films, filed for bankruptcy protection last November; and Sandoz admits he's finding it increasingly tough to complete financing on projects.
Branco and Sandoz are not the only auteur producers in France finding it tough going. "Producing auteur films is no longer viable," says Denis Freyd, who produced the Dardenne brothers' Palme d'Or-winning film "The Child" under his Archipel 35 banner. "It's a sad certainty that the financing and production of auteur films in France is becoming increasingly difficult," echoes Martine Marignac, veteran producer of auteurs Jacques Rivette, Otar Iosseliani and Jean-Marie Straub.
So who is to blame for the demise of the art house producer in the country that invented the genre?
Branco, who has already launched a new company, Alma Films, is unequivocal: "Today it is channel chiefs and banks who decide which films get made," he said in a candid interview with film review Les Cahiers du Cinema.
Marignac concurs: "While fully respecting their legal obligations (to invest in local movies), the channels think quite logically not in terms of cinema but in terms of primetime. When they read a script, they don't think whether it's a good theatrical film but if it'll be good for their ratings at 8:30 p.m."
On top of this, pay channel Canal Plus has radically reduced the sums it puts into auteur pre-buys.
Five years later, Balsan tragically has committed suicide, his company's financial troubles believed to have contributed to his worries; Branco's company, Gemini Films, filed for bankruptcy protection last November; and Sandoz admits he's finding it increasingly tough to complete financing on projects.
Branco and Sandoz are not the only auteur producers in France finding it tough going. "Producing auteur films is no longer viable," says Denis Freyd, who produced the Dardenne brothers' Palme d'Or-winning film "The Child" under his Archipel 35 banner. "It's a sad certainty that the financing and production of auteur films in France is becoming increasingly difficult," echoes Martine Marignac, veteran producer of auteurs Jacques Rivette, Otar Iosseliani and Jean-Marie Straub.
So who is to blame for the demise of the art house producer in the country that invented the genre?
Branco, who has already launched a new company, Alma Films, is unequivocal: "Today it is channel chiefs and banks who decide which films get made," he said in a candid interview with film review Les Cahiers du Cinema.
Marignac concurs: "While fully respecting their legal obligations (to invest in local movies), the channels think quite logically not in terms of cinema but in terms of primetime. When they read a script, they don't think whether it's a good theatrical film but if it'll be good for their ratings at 8:30 p.m."
On top of this, pay channel Canal Plus has radically reduced the sums it puts into auteur pre-buys.
PARIS -- In 2001, three of France's most respected independent producers -- Humbert Balsan, Paolo Branco and Gilles Sandoz -- formed a distribution alliance called Pirates.
Five years later, Balsan tragically has committed suicide, his company's financial troubles believed to have contributed to his worries; Branco's company, Gemini Films, filed for bankruptcy protection last November; and Sandoz admits he's finding it increasingly tough to complete financing on projects.
Branco and Sandoz are not the only auteur producers in France finding it tough going. "Producing auteur films is no longer viable," says Denis Freyd, who produced the Dardenne brothers' Palme d'Or-winning film "The Child" under his Archipel 35 banner. "It's a sad certainty that the financing and production of auteur films in France is becoming increasingly difficult," echoes Martine Marignac, veteran producer of auteurs Jacques Rivette, Otar Iosseliani and Jean-Marie Straub.
So who is to blame for the demise of the art house producer in the country that invented the genre?
Branco, who has already launched a new company, Alma Films, is unequivocal: "Today it is channel chiefs and banks who decide which films get made," he said in a candid interview with film review Les Cahiers du Cinema.
Marignac concurs: "While fully respecting their legal obligations (to invest in local movies), the channels think quite logically not in terms of cinema but in terms of primetime. When they read a script, they don't think whether it's a good theatrical film but if it'll be good for their ratings at 8:30 p.m."
On top of this, pay channel Canal Plus has radically reduced the sums it puts into auteur pre-buys.
Five years later, Balsan tragically has committed suicide, his company's financial troubles believed to have contributed to his worries; Branco's company, Gemini Films, filed for bankruptcy protection last November; and Sandoz admits he's finding it increasingly tough to complete financing on projects.
Branco and Sandoz are not the only auteur producers in France finding it tough going. "Producing auteur films is no longer viable," says Denis Freyd, who produced the Dardenne brothers' Palme d'Or-winning film "The Child" under his Archipel 35 banner. "It's a sad certainty that the financing and production of auteur films in France is becoming increasingly difficult," echoes Martine Marignac, veteran producer of auteurs Jacques Rivette, Otar Iosseliani and Jean-Marie Straub.
So who is to blame for the demise of the art house producer in the country that invented the genre?
Branco, who has already launched a new company, Alma Films, is unequivocal: "Today it is channel chiefs and banks who decide which films get made," he said in a candid interview with film review Les Cahiers du Cinema.
Marignac concurs: "While fully respecting their legal obligations (to invest in local movies), the channels think quite logically not in terms of cinema but in terms of primetime. When they read a script, they don't think whether it's a good theatrical film but if it'll be good for their ratings at 8:30 p.m."
On top of this, pay channel Canal Plus has radically reduced the sums it puts into auteur pre-buys.
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