Actress Sara Forestier with French Minister of Culture

and Communications Renaud Donnedieu DeVabres.

(Frederic Eger)

Actor, director, producer Alain Chabat (Frederic Eger)

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Home > Arts & Entertainment > Movies | Topic: Exhibits

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The Salon du Cin�ma: A Success Beyond

Expectations

Paris Film Expo matches excitement of Cannes

By Frederic Eger

Special to The Epoch TimesJan 23, 2007

The way French actor Benoit Magimel put it,

"The Salon du Cin�ma�it's like Cannes!" For

this first ever film expo in Paris, Jan. 12�Jan.

14, the presence of crowds of photographerssurrounding Patrick Rotman, Florent Siri, andBenoit Magimel made everyone there feel thatthey had been transported to the Cannes FilmFestival.

For a $30 entry fee, Parisians, French visitorshailing from the provinces, and even someLondoners had the opportunity to ask questionsand take photographs with some of theirfavorite celebrities, including actor MichaelYoun, actor-director-producer Alain Chabat,actor-director Guillaume Canet, actor BenoitMagimel, and director Michel Hazavinicius.

"As surprising as it might sound, there hasn't yetbeen a film expo, although there are expos inevery field, from cars to chocolate or Andouillette and bathrooms," say co-founders Moise Kissous, GadAbitbol, and Jonathan Bryant.

"The Salon du Cin�ma should belong to all of us.

And because a celebration is never as beautiful aswhen it is open to all, we wished to invite, as thefirst foreign country [to participate], Morocco, aland of French filmmaking, and which has sharedwith France some of its most popular Moroccantalents," said a press release.

For this international premiere, 50,000 visitorsconverged in Hall 6 of the Porte de Versailles forthree days of meetings, presentations, andreceptions. Organizers said the Salon's successexceeded their expectations. Moise Kissous foundhimself apologizing to a celebrity who tried toreach the VIP area and was promptly andenergetically directed by security to the regularentrance area. "Please forgive us for thetreatment you received at the entrance. Thisevent has surpassed our expectations."

Once inside, visitors were able to engage theSeventh Art in several ways, through institutionsand professional organizations such as theFederation des Industries du Cinema, del'Audiovisuel et du Multimedia (also known asFICAM), Film France, the Association des

R�alisateurs et Producteurs, SRF, UCMF, the

Union Guilde des Scenaristes (UGS, thescreenwriters' guild), and the ministry ofeducation, with the support of the NationalCenter for Cinematography.

One of the most memorable moments of the Salon was the inaugural reception under the patronage of theminister of culture and communications, Renaud Donnedieu DeVabres. For the occasion he posed besideactress Sara Forestier and his Moroccan counterpart, minister of communication Mohammed NabilBenabdallah,

A little glamour never hurts, especially with the appearance of the young actress Sara Forestier, knownfor her roles in Bruno Chiche's "Hell" (2006) and Claude Lelouch's "Le Courage d'Aimer" ("The Courage to

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Chris Wedge, director of Robots and Ice Age 2

(Frederic Eger)

Love," 2006).

At the event's climax on Saturday, the Prix duPublic awards (the People's Award) were given forFrance's favorite actor and actress.

The Grand Forum, open around the clock,welcomed directors, screenwriters, and producersto discuss their projects and present their latestwork.

Among these was a brilliant presentation byscreenwriter-director Danielle Thompson and aline-up of directors such as Guillaume Canet, Eric

Lartigau ("Pr�te-Moi Ta Main"), and Michel

Hazavinicius ("OSS 117").

Three highlights were especially noteworthy. Firstwas the trio Florent-Emilio Siri, Benoit Magimel,and Patrick Rotman, who worked for five years on"L'Ennemi Intime" ("The Intimate Enemy"), whichwas a "Saving Private Ryan" for the Algerian Warand will be released in September.

Another highlight was the appearance of MichaelYoun, accompanied by Bruno Merle and CyriacAuriol, director and producer, respectively, of"Heroes," which is currently in post-production. Alain Chabat and Chris Wedge, directors of "Robots" and"Ice Age 2," shared their experience and savoir-faire with the public.

In the end, nearly 60 presenters, ranging from film schools, the film industry, distributors and TVnetworks, professional organizations, and editors, gave the public an inside look at what happens behindthe silver screen.

For film and audiovisual professionals, as I was discreetly told by some, however, the salon in many wayslooked more like an amusement park than a networking and business opportunity. Such is the challengethat the next Salon du Cinema will face: to go beyond the "gadget" stage and to become a truly useful andproductive forum for professionals, as well as an educational opportunity for the public.

But building on this year's success, it should not be difficult for the organizers to improve the formula.

Long life to the French Salon du Cin�ma, and to the Seventh Art!

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