AFC Newsletter Editorial, October 2017

By Richard Andry, President of the AFC

by Richard Andry AFC newsletter n°279

[ English ] [ français ]

I just ended reading the balance sheet of the CNC (National Administration Center of Cinema) for 2016. The news is pretty good. French cinema reached an all-time record of 213 million admissions. It is also a world-wide industry with a production level of 283 films in 2016.

The film and audiovisual sector "weighs" almost 1% of GDP, more than the pharmaceutical or the automotive industry. The implementation of the measures on cinema and audiovisual tax credits allowed the relocation of € 500 million in expenses, resulting in the creation of 15,000 jobs. Finally, 2016 was also the bounce-back of audiovisual production and particularly of French fiction, which, after seven years of American domination, occupies for the second year the top of the list of best fictional audiences. All this, thanks to an ambition that resulted in an extraordinary adaptation to technological innovations and new uses, reconciling "the powers of art and industry, the forces of innovation and preservation, cultural diversity and economic competitiveness ".

The very function of the director of photography being at the heart of the creative process, we are very pleased and at the level of our Association, we are proud to recognize ourselves as one of the auxiliary actors of this success. Our commitment has always been to promote and defend rigorously the quality and excellence in the field of cinematographic "art" and this thanks to the privileged links permanently developed with the other players in our industry: inventors, manufacturers, laboratories, rentals, creators, technicians and workers ...

The Micro-Salon can also be considered as a gigantic workshop / experimental laboratory where all those involved in the manufacture of images and sound can come and exchange interactively with providers presenting their personal knowledge and experiences for the enrichment of all. The participants come from all over Europe and we exchange with the whole world on the occasion of our "carte blanche".

The AFC plays a vanguard role, we test the materials "in vivo" and support innovation and quality. We organize various formal and informal workshops, centralize the data and information concerning the fields of the image that we store and redistribute via a site and a letter that many in the world envy us: a formidable capture of the lived in real time as much as a faithful guardian of the memory and the heritage of the cinematographic image. The address book of our members is open and searchable on our site and we are solicited personally by many students, researchers, journalists, PhD students.

Many of our members are considered to be among the best in the world and are constantly asked to hold master classes. We take part in the main world events where we organize workshops, as well as close contact with the main film schools and with young people looking for guidance. And all this managed, coordinated and administered rigorously. Yes, we do the job. And if I recall all this is because I have heard of a decrease in aid granted to associations.

A false news I hope.

Richard Andry, AFC