Jérome Paillard, the recently appointed, and first full-time director of the Marché International du Film (MIF) in Cannes, unveiled his plans for a more user-friendly market that is ready to face new challenges in the fast-changing audiovisual sector. His goal is to give the biggest film market a sense of identity and cohesion. It looks as though a new age has dawned for MIF.
A former producer who was general manager of Daniel Toscan du Plantier's Erato Film he joined half-way through Van Gogh and left after Mme Butterfly Paillard comes to the job more than aware of the problems and the grumbles that have always accompanied the Marché in Cannes.
Although he told Moving Pictures to fully realise that it will take time to get things changed at MIF, Paillard plans to start his ambitious plans by increasing the flow of information provided to buyers and sellers, both via a proper catalogue and via a phone-in information service (MIF-Line).
He is also determined to give all MIF delegates full festival accreditation, arguing that, while films in competition are more often than not pre-sold, those in the other sections - especially Un Certain Regard and the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs - are not. It's important for buyers to be able to see them, he explained. I want Market delegates to be treated like fully-fledged festivaliers.
Although more of the 13 studios will be equipped with Dolby Stereo for MIF'96, further changes will have to wait for the decision, later this year, on whether or not to go ahead with a major refurbishment of the Palais, extending it in several directions and possibly reversing the present, ludicrous arrangement whereby films are screened upstairs, in rooms which could have windows but don't, while business is conducted underground where the inevitable windlowlessness is ideal for screening films. If this refurbishment goes ahead, 1996 could be the last year for the bunker as we know it. It could also, of course, mean that the 1997 festival will take place on a building site.
However, as paillard concluded, "The last thing we want to do is get the big companies who have moved out into the Carlton and the Majestic back into the Palais. The building is too small, the ceilings are too low to build really impressive stands. There's no room. It's no bad thing that they wanted to get out.
Nick Roddick
