Twas the Night Before Cannes…

Intenational Symposium: Cinema of Tomorrow

'Twas the night before Cannes kicked off and already the Croisette was stirring with directors and stars for an international colloquium on the future of cinema. Moderated by the grand dame of French cinema -- Isabelle Huppert -- the hot topic of the discussion was technology, essentially: how will its rapid growth affect the future of films and their creation?

Just a few of the filmmakers at the conference included: Brian De Palma, Wim Wenders, Atom Egoyan, Youssef Chahine, Thomas Vinterberg, Sidney Lumet, Idrissa Ouedraogo, the Dardenne brothers, Erick Zonca, Catherine Breillat and Tonie Marshall, not to mention novelist Nadine Gordimer. Judging by their debates, it seems as though cinema in the digital age is rife with promise. New technology means new tools, for example DVD cameras. These allow films to be made at lesser costs and "democratize" the process of filmmaking so that it is more accessible to the general public.

The digital age also offers a "staggering amount of possibilities" explained Wim Wenders, not only in terms of their creation, but also for their preservation. He noted that the expansion of the high tech industry doesn't exclude filmmaking, which is, and always has been "high tech." The point was made that digital advances can never negate the influence of creativity and in fact, the two can work in tadem -- for example, in the Dogma film movement. Danish (and Dogma) filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg added that movies will always be created for the joy of creation and that curiosity can conquer anxiety. His films, though acclaimed, reflect little of this revolutionary technology.

The tone of the talk soon turned political, and it was clear that the positions of each filmmaker were as varied as their nationalities. African filmmakers Idrissa Ouedraogo and Adherramane Sissako noted that although digital advances do make production easier, films are still dispersed in mainly first world countries. Movies themselves are at risk in nations where censorship is rampant, they reminded the audience. Filmmaker Youssef Chahine then raised the political nature of the debate by noting that films from many regions of the world are neglected internationally. He pressed for more political responsibility among industry executives.

It was fitting that the panel concluded with a speech from Lionel Jospin. The presence of the French Prime Minister gave the conference even more media appeal, despite the fact that his words were more for the sake of appearance than cinematic proposals. His essential point was to remind the audience of France's love for film.

The only negative side to the colloquium was that it was closed to the larger public, who might have greatly benefited from the spontaneity and provocative viewpoints that were so freely expressed.

Yannis Polinacci

Note to readers in France: the debates will air on France Culture Saturday 13 May.