CSP: Experience at the Cinémathèque

October 8, 2006

Every year the Cinémathèque hosts Cinespaña, a festival for Spanish cinema. During this festival, along with playing the films in competition, the Cinémathèque brings in directors, actors, etc. to speak and has concerts each night. I was able to attend one of these concerts and then returned later that week to watch some short films playing in the festival. This was actually the first time saw a film there and so there were a few interesting things I observed:

Both nights that I went (for the concert and the film) the Cinémathèque was fairly busy, which was exciting because I think this speaks to the importance of cinema here. There were a variety of individuals, most came with friends and family (I didn’t notice anyone who seemed to be alone) and I didn’t really see any young children—most seemed to be in their teens or older. I was surprised at the mix of ages though, it definitely wasn’t just the artsy-only-into-the-independent-stuff 20-30 year olds that seem dominant crowds at similar events back home. Granted, I haven’t really spent much time at things like this in the States, and I also don’t live in a large city…so I can’t generalize to much. There were also several Spanish speakers there, since it was, after all, a Spanish film festival. Pretty neat that the event drew in people not only from other French cities, but also from other countries.

I showed up a few minutes before the start of the film and had to wait around for about 20 minutes because our theatre was still showing a film…because it didn’t start on time…because we are in France. I then followed a crowd of about 20 others into a small theatre. It was pretty awesome because the room didn’t seat more than 30 and all the rows were elevated high enough to see over the heads of those in the row ahead. It definitely felt like a private screening, which was cool. I think they have a few other small theatres and then one large theatre. And, it was so nice because food isn’t sold at the Cinémathèque (at least not that I know of), so I didn’t have some guy behind me crinkling a bag during the entire film. Nor were any groups of obnoxious or giggling teenagers. I enjoyed my experience overall and I liked most of the short films in the competition…and it was great because there were French subtitles (since the films were in Spanish)…which meant I could understand more. Yay!

I think the fact that they don’t sell food, along with the small theatres, and the absence of previews, speaks to the fact that at the Cinémathèque the goal is to watch films as a work of art. Though it is a social event, and a good way to spend time with friends and family, the main objective here seems to be in creating an environment where films can be watched not only for fun but with an objective eye. The Cinémathèque seems to also allow this to be further explored with the other things it offers, like the cinema library and the guests/speakers they host.

CSP: Impressions of the Cinémathèque

October 5, 2006

The only place I’ve really spent much time at is the Cinémathèque. I have been on a few different occasions: though it probably goes unspoken, a couple times were just to attain some information on the place itself. I spoke with three different individuals and from what I can gather the Cinémathèque seems to be an organization dedicated to bringing the art of cinema to the city of Toulouse, not only by showing films, but actually hosting events centered around the cultural happenings of the city. For instance, during the month of October there was a Jazz festival in Toulouse…

“pour célébrer le 20e anniversaire de Jazz sur son 31, la Cinémathèque de Toulouse consacre toute sa porgrammation d’octobre aux lieux qui accueillent la musique de jazz. Parce que nous ne voulions pas presenter simplement des films sur cette musique et que nous souhaitions accompagner cette édition exceptionnelle du Festival, nous avons choisi d’explorer l’espace dans lequel émerge le jazz: cabarets, caves, dancings, ces lieux sont l’occasion pour le cinéma d’exalter le décore et de magnifier le huis-clos.” (taken from the program I picked up at the Cinémathèque)

In addition to having films playing around the cities cultural events, the Cinémathèque also has a cinema library in which I was able to spend some time. This is somewhat separate from the Cinémathèque as you have to pay a fee to enter. But the have a varitey of resources here which could be a great resource for me, in general, to learn more about film and cinema. They have, « un ensemble d’affiches, photos, ouvrages, revues spécialisées, dossiers de presse, bandes originales de films, dont l’importance et la diversité sont reconnues à un niveau tant national qu’international » (a collection of posters, photographes, books and texts, special reviews, newspaper/journal records, and original film strips, whose importance and diveristy are recognized both nationally and internationally). I don’t know of many resources like this in the States, so I hope to take advantage of it while I’m here.

New vocab word! : à huis-clos—in camera

CSP: Setting, Challenges, Advantages

September 27,2006

Considering that my CSP isn’t in one particular setting, let’s start out with some of the challenges that may arise because of this. It will require more work on my part because there isn’t a weekly event that I can attend; therefore in the days to come I’ll need to be on the look out for different events throughout the city. Obviously the Cinémathèque is a great resource for me (a really unique one at that), so I hope to spend a good amount of time there. They not only show films but they have events related to cinema each month (this itself seems to speak to the way cinema influences culture here). These events will be good for me to attend for observing the cinema culture in Toulouse as well as try to make connections/contacts in the “world of cinema,” if you will…or at least with people who just like movies :)

The other most obvious places to find cinematic events are the theatres in town, particularly ABC and the Utopia since they play a wider selection of films from the independent scene…meaning I’ll have more luck finding films that aren’t just American box office movies dubbed in French.

There is a ciné-club that I heard of at Sabatier. I tried contacting them, but have yet to receive a reply. Also contacted a French website that connects video professionals throughout France, but again, I haven’t heard back. If things unfold anything like my past experiences here in France, I’m going to assume neither will respond, but it’s always worth a try.

My last resource as of now is Michäel. I really hope to speak with him and any connections with whom he might be able to put me in contact. I really am hoping that some good connections come from this because I would really like to have a chance to speak directly with individuals interested in film or who work in the industry. This could really help me gain some good insight on the importance of cinema and its cultural influences on the French.

Though not having a particular setting could be a challenge, I think it really could allow me to have a much broader understanding of all the ways film influence the culture here. Having my information come from a variety of sources may allow for a more accurate representation of the cinema culture in Toulouse/France as opposed to just one club or one weekly event.