France Launches Global Initiative to Support Independent Film

Top filmmakers including Richard Linklater, Rebecca Zlotkowski, Jafar Panahi, Jane Campion, Pedro Almodóvar, Wim Wenders, Tarik Saleh and Jia Zhang-ke have signed on to take part in the International Resilience Initiative for Independent Screens unveiled Monday during the Lumiere Summit in France.

The French government has launched what has been dubbed IRIS as a bid to bring urgency to the issues facing independently financed films from around the world. It’s part of the larger push reflected by the Lumiere Summit gathering by France to exert influence across the global film marketplace. In addition to the launch of IRIS, the French government is working to establish what it has dubbed “the Lumiere Alliance” of global film commissions. It’s part of the “multilateralism” around the future of film that French President Emmanuel Macron and the nation’s CNC film body have aggressively promoted in recent weeks, culminating with today’s summit.

The goal with IRIS is “protect, strengthen and connect the cinemas, distributors and nonprofit networks that make film diversity possible and to advance independent film circulation worldwide, particularly where local actors are most isolated, vulnerable or under threat,” as it was further described by materials distributed at the summit. The Lumiere gathering has drawn a who’s who of global content to the historic French Riviera town of Saint Paul de Vence, where the daylong conference is unfolding at the Fondation Maeght art foundation and museum.

“At the very moment audiences are rediscovering independent film, the ecosystem that brings it to them is weakening. Unlike film production, which can to some extent relocate, independent distribution and exhibition depend on locally rooted institutions,” per the prepared materials distributed at the summit. “Yet they receive far less support – nationally and internationally – than production. IRIS is designed to address this gap through the first international mechanism dedicated to the circulation of independent cinema, combining funding, expertise and advocacy.”

France expects that countries will pledge support for the initiative. A major focus of IRIS is to create stronger connections between filmmakers and the nonprofit entities, state commissions and private investors who fuel independent film finance. Macron will host a gathering in New York on Sept. 22 to further discuss the IRIS plan.

Among the other notable filmmakers who have signed on to serve on the IRIS international council are Agnieszka Holland, Costa-Gavras, Jim Jarmusch, Tilda Swinton, Juliette Binoche, Vicky Krieps, Ira Sachs, Ruben Östlund, Kaouther Ben Hania and Thomas Vinterberg.

The goal is to establish a network of key players with the ability to “intervene rapidly when an independent cinema, distributor or nonprofit network is at risk, particularly in territories where support
is most needed, with emergency funding, expertise and international backing,” per the summit materials.

Film education and appreciation efforts will also be part of the mission. As described by the summit, the vision is to “bring new generations into cinemas through film education, expose them to diverse films and help build the audiences independent cinema will depend on tomorrow.”

As for the Lumiere Alliance, the entity is open to “any national agency or public body whose mission is to support, defend or promote cinema or the moving image.” The goal is to host two gatherings per year — one around the Cannes Film Festival in May, the other in a different host country each year.

French officials describe their vision for the Alliance as a safety net that can serve as a “missing global link” to accelerate sector-wide activity and innovations beyond borders.

“Cinema and audiovisual creation are more than industries. They carry stories, languages and cultures, shape how societies represent themselves and give audiences access to perspectives beyond their own. Their vitality depends on cultural diversity, freedom of creation, creators’ rights, access to works, thriving cinemas and the ability of new generations to discover and understand images. Preserving these
conditions is therefore not only an economic objective. It is a public responsibility, and one that increasingly needs to be considered beyond national borders,” per materials distributed at the summit.

(Pictured: Filmmakers Richard Linklater, Rebecca Zlotkowski, Jafar Panahi and Pedro Almodóvar)