It is not the melody of happiness, but not the Titanic either: thanks to their loyal audience, arthouse theaters, temples of cinephilia, hope to bounce back with less difficulty than multiplexes after the crisis.
This is the case at Grand Action, a flagship cinema in the Latin Quarter in Paris: “
confinement?
I take this opportunity to expand and create a third room!
“Enthuses the owner of the place, Isabelle Gibbal-Hardy.
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The operator, who usually sells 60,000 tickets a year, but is depressed at the idea of doing the count this year, is convinced: as soon as the green light is given to reopen, the public will find their way back to the dark rooms.
Read also: Reconfinement: Roselyne Bachelot closes theaters, museums, concert halls and cinemas
Moreover, after the first confinement, while the large networks paid for the absence of blockbusters likely to bring back the general public, arthouse theaters were full, or almost.
“
We have reaped the rewards of spectator attachment.
They make declarations of love to us!
», Isabelle Gibbal-Hardy analyzes.
The event screenings, festivals, film clubs, meetings with directors have especially worked well.
And even during the closure, the projector of the Grand Action does not have time to cool down: the rooms continue to be used for post-production of films, verification of plans, color grading ...
“
It's in full swing.
All the French cinema that parades
", adds Isabelle Gibbal-Hardy, convinced that the arthouse park of Paris,"
unique in the world and which makes it the capital of cinema
", will come out unscathed.
Aware of the symbol, the mayor of Paris voted in October an exceptional aid of half a million euros to support its 36 independent theaters, some of which have been welcoming cinephiles for decades, such as the Escorial or the Studio des Ursulines.
The crisis is real and affects all cinemas.
François Aymé, president of the French Association of arthouse cinemas (Afcae)
In general, between the massive infusions of the State, the CNC aids and the actions of communities, the operators of these small structures, often little endowed with cash, agree to salute the financial effort made for their allow to pass the course.
"
The crisis is real and affects all cinemas,
" however tempers François Aymé, president of the French Association of arthouse cinemas (Afcae).
He confirms that certain arthouse theaters, for example in Paris or in large cities, suffer "
in lesser proportions than generalist multiplexes
".
“
We know the public will be there when we reopen.
But it is still necessary that this crisis does not last too long
”, confirms cautiously Claudine Cornillat, at the head of Max Linder, another mythical room of the capital with its balconies in Italian stucco.
The operator is eager to reopen to show the restored version of Wong Kar-Wai's masterpiece,
In the Mood for Love
, on a very large screen: more than 100 m2.
Aesthetic shock guaranteed.
Beyond this kind of events, these cinemas cultivate the hope that their audience, out of loyalty and out of love for dark rooms, will yield less than others to the sirens of film taps, like Netflix.
In the meantime, keeping the link during confinement is essential, by advising films, or by setting up quizzes on social networks ...
Inspired by his fellow bookstores, Michel Ferry, from the Carmelites cinema in Orléans, an "
independent and activist
”, has meanwhile started“
click and collect
”.
“
The order and the pickup,
” he corrects, with DVDs carefully chosen to feed movie fans.
"
We have people passing by, others who come to buy prepayment cards
", rejoices the operator who counts on the support of its more than 2000 subscribers ... "
But what we lack is a date reopening.
Without a date, we have no prospect,
”he concludes with, all the same, a little concern.