Film production fell by 20% in 2020 in France, public support and guarantee measures for filming making it possible to limit the breakage due to the pandemic, according to figures released Tuesday by the CNC.
A total of 239 feature films were approved by the National Center for Cinematography and Animated Image (CNC) last year in France, a decline of 20%, the lowest in at least a decade.
The money invested in these films fell even further: 784 million euros were spent on films taken into account by the CNC, a decline of nearly 30%.
Over the past ten years, these investments have mostly exceeded one billion euros.
Under the effect of the crisis, the investments of television channels in the cinema also contracted sharply, falling by a quarter to 205 million euros.
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Most of the films shot are still awaiting the reopening of theaters, very few of them having so far decided to give up the big screen to sell directly to platforms.
On the filming side, the most visible face of the film industry, the vast Covid guarantee plan put in place in France allowed a rapid restart after the first confinement.
Over the whole of 2020, however, the number of filming days is down by 30%, but less pronounced for filming on French soil than abroad.
The year 2020 was marked by the months of closure of the rooms during confinement, or of reduced opening due to the health protocol.
To prevent the film production line from seizing up completely, the CNC has set up a filming guarantee fund, making it possible to pay compensation in the event of an interruption due to contamination by the Covid, up to 100 million. euros, half of which is public money.
A total of 564 shootings have used it, and about one in ten has filed a compensation file following a Covid-related disaster, the CNC told AFP.
Aid amounting to 24 million euros was also mobilized and made it possible to avoid economic and social damage in the sector.
