The Deauville Congress, the biggest annual convention for French cinema operators, took place at the Centre International de Deauville (CID) from 22 to 25 September in Normandy, and focused on key operational, policy, and educational challenges. The convention brought together exhibitors, distributors and representatives from public institutions.
The first full day, Tuesday, was structured to address exhibitor concerns. The morning was dedicated to a series of closed-door Branch Commission Meetings, which allowed operators of small, medium, and large cinemas to convene and discuss specific issues. In the afternoon, the focus shifted to a round table dedicated to “Education in Cinema” featuring the presentation of the Geffray report.
This session was moderated by Florian Krieg, Chief Editor at le Film Français, and featured:
- Catherine Morine-Desailly, Senator and President of the French Cultural Commission
- Sylvie Robert, Senator, Vice-President of the Senate and President of ‘‘Territoires et Cinéma’’
- Gaëtan Bruel, President of CNC
- Aurélie Delage, Ciné Lumière, Vice-President of FNCF and President of FNCF Commission for Image Education
- Laurence Tison-Vuillaume, President of the Culture pass
- Edouard Geffray, State Councillor, former General Director of School Education (DGESCO)
- Renaud Ferreira de Oliveira, General Inspector of National Education
The full recording of the roundtable can be retrieved here.
The evening was capped by the preview of the highly anticipated L'Étranger by director François Ozon.
Policy and industry-wide debate dominated the middle of the week. Wednesday featured a morning Discussion Forum where rapporteurs of the three branches summarised what had been discussed the previous day, focusing on challenges such as the 2025 decrease in admissions in France. This was followed by the Debate with the Centre National du Cinéma in the afternoon. The CNC presented concrete measures to support cinema operators. The whole section can be rewatched here.
As the Congrès celebrated its 80th anniversary, the evening included a special Hommage to director Michel Hazanavicius, before the official cocktail dinner. UNIC also hosted a get together for mentors and mentees of the Leadership programme.
The final day was organised in collaboration with the Fédération Nationale des Editeurs de Films (FNEF). This Distributors’ Day occupied the entire schedule, providing cinema operators with an extensive look at upcoming releases.
The Congress concluded with a final industry gathering later that evening at the Casino de Deauville.
Congratulations again to FNCF colleagues for this successful convention!