The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers daily screenings of worldwide films.
History
The collection emerged from the efforts of Henri Langlois and
Lotte H. Eisner
Lotte H. Eisner (5 March 1896, Berlin – 25 November 1983, Paris) was a German-French writer, film critic, archivist and curator. Eisner worked initially as a film critic in Berlin, then in Paris where in 1936 she met Henri Langlois with whom she ...
in the mid 1930s to collect and screen films. Langlois had acquired one of the largest collections in the world by the beginning of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, only to have it nearly wiped out by the German authorities in occupied France, who ordered the destruction of all films made prior to 1937. He and his friends smuggled huge numbers of documents and films out of occupied
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
to protect them until the end of the war.
After the war, the French government provided a small screening room, staff and subsidy for the collection, which was relocated to the Avenue de Messine. Significant French filmmakers of the 1940s and 1950s, including
Robert Bresson
Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director.
Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, ellipses, and sparse use of scoring have le ...
,
René Clément
René Clément (; 18 March 1913 – 17 March 1996) was a French film director and screenwriter.
Life and career
Clément studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts where he developed an interest in filmmaking. In 1936, he directed hi ...
,
Henri-Georges Clouzot
Henri-Georges Clouzot (; 20 November 1907 – 12 January 1977) was a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his work in the thriller film genre, having directed '' The Wages of Fear'' and '' Les Diaboliques' ...
and Jacques Becker frequented screenings at the Cinémathèque. Directors of the New Wave (''la Nouvelle Vague'') school —
Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais (; 3 June 19221 March 2014) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included ...
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...
,
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran ...
,
Claude Chabrol
Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues a ...
,
Roger Vadim
Roger Vadim Plemiannikov (; 26 January 1928 – 11 February 2000) was a French screenwriter, film director and producer, as well as an author, artist and occasional actor. His best-known works are visually lavish films with erotic qualities, su ...
, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Pierre Kast — also received much of their film education by attending the collection's screenings.
A meeting in 1945 in
Basle
Basel ( , ), also known as Basle ( ),french: Bâle ; it, Basilea ; rm, label= Sutsilvan, Basileia; other rm, Basilea . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zürich an ...
between Langlois and Freddy Buache led, via Lausanne's first film club, to the founding in 1950 of the
Swiss Film Archive
The Swiss Film Archive (French: ''Cinémathèque suisse'', German: ''Schweizer Filmarchiv'') is a Swiss state-approved noncommercial foundation based in Lausanne.
Its aims are to collect, protect, study and present film archives.Palais de Chaillot with funds provided by
André Malraux
Georges André Malraux ( , ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' ( Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed by P ...
, Minister of Culture, and became subject to government overview. In February 1968, under pressure from the Ministry of Finance, Malraux required changes in the management of the Cinémathèque and dismissed Henri Langlois.
A defence committee was formed, uniting notable French filmmakers ( Alexandre Astruc,
Claude Berri
Claude Berri (; 1 July 1934 – 12 January 2009) was a French film director, writer, producer, actor and distributor.
Early life
Born Claude Beri Langmann in Paris, Berri was the son of Jewish immigrant parents. His mother, Beila (née Bercu), w ...
,
Robert Bresson
Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director.
Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, ellipses, and sparse use of scoring have le ...
,
Claude Chabrol
Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues a ...
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran ...
Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais (; 3 June 19221 March 2014) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included ...
Eric Rohmer
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
,
Jean Rouch
Jean Rouch (; 31 May 1917 – 18 February 2004) was a French filmmaker and anthropologist.
He is considered one of the founders of cinéma vérité in France. Rouch's practice as a filmmaker, for over 60 years in Africa, was characterize ...
,
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...
Claude Jade
Claude Marcelle Jorré, better known as Claude Jade (; 8 October 1948 – 1 December 2006), was a French actress. She starred as Christine in François Truffaut's three films '' Stolen Kisses'' (1968), '' Bed and Board'' (1970) and '' Love on t ...
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
added their support. Protests were organized.
Confrontations followed between young people, largely students, and what they saw as an authoritarian centre-right government, out of touch with the concerns of the younger generation. These demonstrations were precursors of and merged into the widespread student revolt that erupted from March 1968 onwards, escalating into nationwide unrest in May. Before then, the government had backed down over the Cinémathèque, reinstating Langlois as head in April 1968.
Location
After numerous incidentsincluding multiple relocations from one small screening room to another through the 1950s and a fire in its last premisesthe Cinémathèque française moved to 51, rue de Bercy in the 12th arrondissement of Paris and reopened its doors in a
postmodern
Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of modern ...
building designed by
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions.
His works are considere ...
, an American architect.
The Bibliothèque du film, which was created in 1992 to show the history of cinema, its production, impact and artistic strength, merged with the Cinémathèque française.
Cinémathèque française operates the
Musée de la cinémathèque The Musée de la cinémathèque ( en, Cinema Museum), formerly known as Musée du cinéma Henri-Langlois ( en, Henri Langlois Cinema Museum), is a museum of cinema history located in the Cinémathèque française, 51 rue de Bercy in the 12th arron ...
, formerly known as Musée du cinéma Henri-Langlois, in the new building.
President Director and Secretary
*President:
Costa-Gavras
Costa-Gavras (short for Konstantinos Gavras; el, Κωνσταντίνος Γαβράς; born 12 February 1933) is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for films with political and s ...
, Oscar-nominated director of ''Z'', "State of Siege", Berlin Golden Bear-winning director of ''
Music Box
A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae ...
'' and Cannes
Golden Palm
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
-winning director of ''
Missing
Missing or The Missing may refer to:
Film
*Missing (1918 film), ''Missing'' (1918 film), an American silent drama directed by James Young
*Missing (1982 film), ''Missing'' (1982 film), an American historical drama directed by Costa-Gavras
*Missi ...
''
*Director: Fréderic Bonnaud, former critic and radio host.
*General Secretary:
Jean-Michel Arnold
Jean-Michel Arnold, (1938 - September 4, 2019) is General Secretary of the Cinémathèque Française, vice President of UNESCO's IFTC ( International Council for Film Television and Audiovisual Communication), founder of the Cinéma du Réel, Dir ...
, the spiritual successor of Henri Langlois and consistently re-elected as General Secretary since 1981
*Honorary Presidents:
**
Claude Berri
Claude Berri (; 1 July 1934 – 12 January 2009) was a French film director, writer, producer, actor and distributor.
Early life
Born Claude Beri Langmann in Paris, Berri was the son of Jewish immigrant parents. His mother, Beila (née Bercu), w ...
In celebration of the Centennial of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum and the City Center of Music and Drama in New York co-sponsored "Cinémathèque at the Metropolitan Museum". The exhibition showed seventy films dating from the medium's first seventy-five years on thirty-five consecutive evenings from July 29 to September 3, 1970. The films were selected by Henri Langlois for their significance and contributions to the history of filmmaking, including work from official film industries as well as current and early avant garde directors.
The Cinémathèque's closing is noted in
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...
The Book of Illusions
''The Book of Illusions'' is a novel by American writer Paul Auster, published in 2002. It was nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award in 2004.
Plot introduction
Set in the late 1980s, the story is written from the perspective o ...
'' and the 1998 Harvey Danger song "Private Helicopter".
The Cinémathèque and the events surrounding the dismissal of Langlois in 1968 features heavily in
Gilbert Adair
Gilbert Adair (29 December 19448 December 2011) was a Scottish novelist, poet, film critic, and journalist.Stuart Jeffries and Ronald BerganObituary: Gilbert Adair ''The Guardian'', 9 December 2011. He was critically most famous for the "fien ...
's 1988 novel ''
The Holy Innocents The Holy Innocents may refer to:
* The victims of the Biblical Massacre of the Innocents, and any of several artistic depictions of this massacre (e.g. by Giotto di Bondone)
* The Holy Innocents (Adair novel), by Gilbert Adair
** The Dreamers (2 ...
Cinematheque
A cinematheque is an archive of films and film-related objects with an exhibition venue. Similarly to a book library (bibliothèque in French), a cinematheque is responsible for preserving and making available to the public film heritage. Typica ...
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...