20/03/2006

Kicking off yesterday, the 7th Springtime Cinema event, organised by the National Federation of French Cinema (FNCF) will last three days in 2,115 French cinema establishments, which boast a total of 5,314 screens and more than 20% of the arthouse and experimental cinemas.

Offering a reduced ticket price of €3.50 per film, the event attracted more than 2.2m spectators last year, while the record remains 2.5m admissions (in the 2003-4 fiscal year). Aimed at stimulating revenue from admissions, which are picking this year after a disappointing 2005, the FNCF initiative is the first in a promotional trilogy launched annually by the French exhibitors, with the "La Fête du Cinéma" at the end of June and "La Rentrée du Cinéma – A Show For Two" in September. All are good opportunities for French filmgoers to take in the best of what film can offer since the average ticket price in France is normally €5.82, and full price in the big cities is around the €9.

Springtime Cinema should benefit from the new French films released last Wednesday, with Philippe Le Guay’s One Fine Day [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Pierre-François Martin-Laval’s Try Me [+see also:
trailer
film profile], as well as the revolutionary animated film Renaissance [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aton Soumache
interview: Christian Volckman
film profile] (see Focus).

Films by more established filmmakers will still make their mark, including Les Bronzés 3 [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (on the verge of achieving 10m admissions), Orchestra Seats [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (1.5m spectators in four weeks), You Are So Beautiful [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (more than 2m in nine weeks), A Comedy of Power [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (825,000 tickets in three weeks) and The Beat My Heart Skipped [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which is enjoying a second cinema run after its triumph at the Césars.

(Translated from French)