Summary - Europa Cinemas

YOUNG AUDIENCES SEMINAREuropa Cinemas – Cineteca di BolognaLed by Ian Christie and Catharine Des ForgesWho needs Cinema History ?How to develop an educational projectfor young peopleCineteca di BolognaSaturday 30 June to Wednesday 4 July 20071

SummaryIntroduction, by Ian Christie “Who needs film history?”………………………………………………………...3Sunday 1 July 2007 – Introduction to seminar workshops …………….……………………………………51. “Why everyone needs cinema history – even if they don’t think they do? “by Ian Christie and Catharine Des Forges.2. Programming strategies – Presentation by Leendert de Jong (Filmhuis Den Haag, Netherlands) of the’Swinging London’ event3. Work in two groups on : “How do we look?”A. Review / Critiques of publications available for work with young people.B. Thinking about venue image for young peopleMonday 2 July 2007 ……………………………………………………………………………………………….71. “How to sell a difficult film – The Independent Cinema Office experience” by Catharine Des Forges.2. Work in 2 groups on: “Issues on specialised marketing”Tuesday 3 July 2007………………………………………………………………………………………………81. The bigger picture – How do other organisations or companies address young people. How can we adapt toyoung people’s way of life, means of communication and their culture, the media culture in general?“The cinema among new media: youth culture – media culture” by Ian Christie and Catharine Desforges.2. Silent films and young people: opportunities for events music and film events.By Gianluca Farinelli, Director of the Cineteca di Bologna.3. “Young audience and the Canon: what do we want young people to see and have seen?”4. Top 10 European films for young audiences, according to exhibitorsClosing of the session ……...……………………………………………………………………………………12Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….13Appendices to be downloaded from Europa Cinemas website www.europa-cinemas.orgEvaluation questionnaires offered during the seminar by Catharine Des ForgesList of participants and individual presentations2

Ian Christie suggested that the participants view an excerpt from a TV series called Celebrating 100 Yearsof Cinema. Terry Gilliam was associated with this television programme (Terry Gilliam presents…), whichincreased visibility.Ian Christie then presented the processes developed by thetwo documentaries A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsesethrough American Movies and Il mio Viaggio in Italia. Bothoffered an approach to the film history through the life ofMartin Scorsese, inextricably linked with his passion for thecinema. This approach is the starting point for a journeythrough the film history, and an opportunity to presentdirectors and works which have profoundly affected MartinScorsese. The fame of the director helps to introduce thehistory of cinema to a wider public in a more ambitious way.The success of these films undoubtedly stems from his way of linking a personal history to the film historyand also to his way of showing excerpts from films without misrepresenting them.Ian Christie then presented the DVD of the film Black Narcissus by Michael Powell and EmericPressburger, directors discovered partly thanks to Bertrand Tavernier who was involved in the DVDpublishing. Bertrand Tavernier’s collaboration in the project had a decisive effect on the success of theDVD.Ian Christie took advantage of this to quote some of the larger publishing houses: Criterion, Kino,Milestone, British Film Institute, National Film Preservation Foundation, Institut Lumière, Arte, etc.Catharine Des Forges, representing Independent Cinema Office (ICO), then took the floor. The ICO plansto develop and support exploitation in film theatres of independent films in the United Kingdom(www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk). This organisation also offers training. It works with a network of600 to 700 film theatres. According to the organisation, one of the questions is knowing how to identify theaudience for a given event.Exhibitors took it in turns for a first time to present their films and the activities developed for YoungAudiences.Presentations were by Maciej Jakubczyk (Cinema Muranow, Warsaw, Poland), Jolanta Myszka (CinemaRialto, Poznan, Poland), Frédéric Henry (Les Cinémas du Palais, Créteil, France), Tine Van Dycke(Cinéma Lumière, Lessen in het Donker, Bruges, Belgium), Corné Thijssens (Heerenstraattheater,Wageningen, the Netherlands), Luisa Ceretto (Cineteca di Bologna – Cinéma Lumière / Italy), NikosGrigoriadis (Kiz-Kino, Graz / Austria), Davis Kanepe (Kino Riga, Riga, Latvia), Juris Zviedris (K. Suns / SiaKinogalerija, Latvia), Maeve Cooke (Access Cinema, Dublin, Ireland), Sarah Bannan (Irish Film Institute,Dublin, Ireland), Beverley Nicolson (Filmhouse Edinburgh, United Kingdom), Madeleine Probst(Watershed, Bristol, United Kingdom), Maris Vals (Kino Soprus, Tallinn, Estonia), Antoine Tillard (CinémaLe Méliès, Lille, France) and Ted Chiaradia (Lux, Nijmegen, the Netherlands).In the appendices you will find a presentation of each of the exhibitors and their activities.4

2. Programming strategies – presentation by Leendert de Jong of the ’Swinging London’ event, organisedat Filmhuis Den Haag in April and May 2007Leendert de Jong gave us a presentation of the Swinging London eventwhich he organised in his film theatre in April and May 2007. Theprogramme brought together a set of emblematic films about London’s popculture. It linked themes such as pop culture, sex and abortion. Theprogramme contained, in particular, one of the very first films in thismovement, A Hard Day’s Night, presenting The Beatles. Communicationsabout the event were carefully planned (artwork, colours, etc.); DVDscontaining excerpts from the films were sent to schools. The total budgetwas between 50,000 and 60,000 euros.The target audience consisted of two elements: adults who were young inthe 1960s and young people of today. But the success of this event was farfrom that anticipated: each screening attracted on average a dozen people, giving a total of around 200.What reasons could explain such a failure? Leendert de Jong firstly referred to a period of exceptionalweather in the Netherlands at that time. Additionally, he felt that communications and publicity about theevent were too late.3. Two work groups on the following subject: what image do we give of our film theatres?A. Study and critique of publications on activities for young audiencesB. Reflection on the image of the film theatre as seen by young audiencesA questionnaire was distributed to each exhibitor to enable them to evaluate the image of their film theatre(see Appendices).One of the groups was led by Ian Christie, the other by Catharine Des Forges. The workshops gave rise tomany discussions on the film theatre, on its power to attract young audiences, on the mix of audiences, onits relationship with different audiences, on the difficulties attracting the very young.These are the main comments made by exhibitors:• The importance of having a café within the film theatre: firstly, for financial equilibrium and,secondly, to attract audiences. It appears that young audiences, among others, are particularlysensitive to the presence of a café, especially if it offers a friendly, fashionable atmosphere.• Madeleine Probst (Watershed, Bristol) emphasised the difficulties communicating with schools andsetting up links with teachers.• Discussion of the methods of disseminating programme schedules to young people. Question: canprinted programmes be abandoned and only programmes via the internet be offered?• Madeleine Probst : The Watershed is developing production activities and projects using digitaltechnology. Question: how can you include digital projects within more traditional programmeschedules?Monday 2 July 20071. How to ‘sell’ a difficult film: the experiences of the Independent Cinema Office.Catharine Des Forges referred to her experience at the Independent Cinema Office. She emphasised theproblem of films for children which are often banned in Great Britain. For example, The Triplets of Bellevillewas prohibited for under-12s because of a glimpse of breasts lasting several seconds5

(http://www.bbfc.org.uk/website/Classified.nsf/0/9CEF60A0481E61F580256D5600267EF3?OpenDocument).This remark aroused reactions by several exhibitors, particularly from Austria and Great Britain where, intheir opinion, censoring overprotects children. The film This is England by Shane Meadows was prohibitedfor under-18s in Great Britain(http://www.bbfc.org.uk/website/Classified.nsf/0/7F3E47CC247AB9A58025727D0037D33F?OpenDocument). The body in charge of film classification in Great Britain is the BBFC, the British Board of FilmClassification. On a European level, there is a general anti-censor movement among exhibitors. Morebroadly, the goal is also to restore a place for the family at the cinema: Beverley Nicholson (Filmhouse,Edinburgh, Great Britain) thus wished to address more specifically families, once again, for exampleencouraging 'family' users at the film theatre’s café.Since 2005 the ICO has organised every year in November a film festival for young audiences(www.londonchildrenfilm.org.uk). Catharine Des Forges presented a series of postcards used as a meansof communication for the event in 2006. Each postcard is illustrated with a photo from a film andaccompanied by a sentence. This sentence provides an interpretation of the situation photographed,arousing curiosity. The postcard for the film Fourteen sucks shows a young girl who has clearly slept badlyor slept little. The legend is: ‘Emma can’t remember what happened last night.’ On the back of eachpostcard is the entire programme schedule of the festival.How do you show films in a foreign language to children who cannot yet read the subtitles? Catharine DesForges is firmly against actors or teachers reading subtitles during screening, or diffusing recorded voicesusing headsets. She prefers to screen films with little dialogue and therefore few subtitles, such as Whereis the Friend’s Home? by Abbas Kiarostami.2. Work in 2 groups on: “Issues on specialised marketing”Then the group split up again to work on marketing strategies for heritage films. Again, a questionnairewas proposed for this area (see Appendix). Catharine Des Forges offered exhibitors in her group theopportunity to exchange their brochures and then to evaluate them. Each benefited from a professional6

looking at their work. That enabled each exhibitor to ask themselves questions, to see what aspects oftheir communication could be developed or altered.Tuesday 3 July 20071. The bigger picture – How do other organisations or companies address young people. How can weadapt to young people’s way of life, means of communication and their culture, the media culture ingeneral?“The cinema among new media: youth culture – media culture” by Ian Christie and Catharine Desforges.What can you learn from the approach of other organisations or of large groups in our work for YoungAudiences? How do we deal with new mediums and technologies in our film theatres and in our methodsof communication?Ian Christie presented this workshop with the proposal of studying first the general strategies of the largegroups, particularly the concept of brands. A brand embodies three ideas: quality, trust and values. Thetools developed by brands are publicity and attention entirely focused on the consumer.Exhibitors were asked the following questions: ‘Does your film theatre communicate a certain quality,values, does it instil a relationship of trust?’; ‘Do you listen to your audiences?’ ‘And do you react inresponse to their comments, their needs and their interests?’If the biggest consumer and entertainment companies have been working so hard for over 20 years ontheir methods of reaching their target consumers, and particularly young people, can we, as exhibitors,really manage without these tools and dispense with any reflection on this matter? How could we in factallow ourselves not to live in the same world as our consumers?We can be reluctant about marketing and, based on the principle that ‘culture is not a product like others’,conclude that its rules cannot be applied. Isn’t this precisely an approach against art, culture? Are weobliged to take the rules of the market to the smallest recesses of the modern world? Maybe… But theserules are already anchored in our lives. And the challenge is to take advantage of this.Why not take inspiration from other companies which also target young people: manufacturers ofconsumer products, various leisure clubs and associations, charitable organisations, the church,environmental protection bodies, etc. Finally, the challenge offered to us is as follows: how can we makethe cinema a really modern activity and experience in the eyes of young audiences? On this subject, IanChristie referred to a website (www.consume.bbk.ac.uk), the works of Jeroen Boschma and Inez Groenfrom the Keesie communications agency and the works of John Knell (see bibliography in Appendix).Exhibitors shared their experiences of these issues. Corné Thijssens, of the Heerenstraatheater cinemain Wageningen, the Netherlands, during the release of Match Point, gave his audiences the opportunityto meet via the internet and to post adverts: ‘Who would like to come and see the film at such and such ascreening?’ This system of dating worked very well and enabled the audience to become involved in thelife of the cinema, and the cinema in the life of the audience.The use of the Internet by exhibitors was then the subject of lively discussion. The Watershed uses it a lot(www.watershed.co.uk). The team is also developing the e-shed website (www.eshed.net/construct), a sitemanaged entirely by young film enthusiasts. The site offers critiques of films, resources (for example, linksand information), advice and tricks to maximise use of the internet, software, new technology either forproducing a film or for putting films online on www.youtube.com. The Watershed also offers the Dshed site(www.dshed.net/navigation): this is an ‘Internet platform for artists, producers, communities, a space inwhich to view creations, explore, create, learn, discuss and debate on culture and digital mediums. Thesite includes creative content, online resources and a studio where you can experiment and at times7

participate in the development of new projects.’ The Watershed was also behind the DEPICT! Festival.(http://www.depict.org/), a festival of 90-second films, within the Encounters festival of short films. AMySpace page was specially created for this festival (http://myspace.com/depict07). Films may be seen onthe website www.depict.org. The MySpace page allows a thread to be developed on the subject of thisfestival to increase its visibility, to create a network of people and structures around this festival.Homepage of the Eshed.net website developed by the cinema Watershed, in BristolFacebook sites also enable networks to be created: why not create a Facebook group for your film theatre,thus creating a community, a network for exchanges, meetings, based on your cinema(www.facebook.com)?Exploiting the resources offered by the internet means you can give your film theatre great visibility byusing the means of communication most favoured by young audiences. That also helps to give an imageof the cinema as an energetic, convivial, trendy, active entity, to make it an element of social links,networking, a place to get together. The film theatre, which may at first be perceived as merely a placewhere films are projected, a place of darkened rooms where communication may appear to have beensuspended since you watch the film in silence for two hours in the dark, may then acquire the image of aforum for artistic or intellectual exchange, a place of get-togethers, energetic and fashionable.The Internet can also be a wonderful tool to accompany films. The Watershed proposes podcastingcommentaries and analyses of scheduled films on its website. But the Internet can also enable thecreation of links between scheduled films and short films by the same directors or during the same periodsof time, or linked to similar themes. Ian Christie referred to the website www.ubu.com, a splendid site forfilm, sound and text resources. He also referred to the Film London website (www.filmlondon.org.uk).Most of the exhibitors present use their websites solely to communicate their programme schedules totheir audiences – and one film theatre does not have a website. The discussion tended to show that theuse of the internet is essential to the development of a communication policy and to the development of acinema. It also showed the extent of the possibilities offered by this tool and that these possibilities mayenable links to be woven between filmgoers, particularly the youngest ones, watching either contemporaryfilms or heritage films. The Watershed film theatre and media centre in Bristol is a frontrunner in the use ofnew communications tools. This process allows it to link the three levels at which the Watershed wishes toposition itself: as a social, cultural and economic player.The discussion ended with the arrival of Gianluca Farinelli.8

2. Silent films and young people: opportunities for events music and film events.By Gianluca Farinelli, Director of the Cineteca di Bologna.When Gianluca Farinelli came to the Cineteca di Bologna, in 1981, the archives contained 300 films. Theynow contain 35,000.On the subject of silent films accompanied by music, there is a split between the purists who only showsilent films when accompanied by music composed at that time, and the others who show film-concerts inwhich contemporary compositions (jazz, rock or contemporary compositions in the style of music from thetime) accompany the films, specifically to attract a wider audience. The ARTE television channel is theonly one working in this area. It offers new scores. But some find this step questionable.Cinema from the 1920s is sometimes accompanied by modern music, with intellectual connotations (forexample, experimental music, music influenced by Pierre Boulez). But Gianluca Farinelli added that thisstyle of music is far from the popular spirit of the cinema and voiced doubts as to the capacity of this typeof programme schedule to attract the public.Another tendency lies in the use of big names in film music, such as Michael Nyman (composer of musicin films by Peter Greenaway and Jane Campion). Gianluca Farinelli was opposed to practices of this type:famous composers seek the limelight and promotion which do not occur with silent films unless to thedetriment of the film.Where budgets are very limited, he proposed the use of recorded music, suggesting Satie (who oftenworks well on many films) and Verdi for Italian films!Of course, if resources permit, it can be exciting to order a score for a given film. But you still need to find acomposer-interpreter, sufficiently familiar with film-concerts and silent films, who has a lot of time – andpassion. All the more so since the score will only be played a few, rare times.But the director of the Cineteca also proposed rediscovering silent films in their original state, withoutmusic. This vision offers a quite new approach to film.The score from that period is a valuable source of information: it means you can estimate the duration ofany missing sequences in the film which has been rediscovered or is being restored. It also givesindicators on the projection speed of the film.3. “Young audience and the Canon: what do we want young people to see and have seen?”One of the first ‘films to see’ lists was undoubtedly that of Paul Rotha. In 1930, he published in The FilmTill Now, a list of the 114 films he considered important. Then, in 1952, the magazine Sight and Soundasked critics from around the world for their list of the ‘10 best films’. 10 years later, Sight and Soundrepeated the exercise and new films such as L'Avventura (1960) joined the pre-war classics. Citizen Kanethen started its ascendancy until becoming ‘officially’ recognised as the ‘best film’ – a place it was to retainuntil 2002. During that time, Hitchcock also climbed up the various ‘Top 10’ lists. Some films have a longtermplace in these lists: Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans by Murnau, Greed by Stroheim, Rules of theGame by Renoir and 8 ½ by Fellini.This is Sight and Sound’s Top 10 in 2002:1. Citizen Kane (Welles)2. Vertigo (Hitchcock)3. Rules of the Game / La Règle du Jeu (Renoir)4. The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II (Coppola)5. Tokyo Story / Tôkyô Monogatari (Ozu)6. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick)7. In joint place: Battleship Potemkin / Bronenosets Potyomkin (Eisenstein) / Sunrise: A Song of TwoHumans (Murnau)9

9. 8 ½ (Fellini)10. Singin’ in the Rain (Donen)How important are these lists and Top 10s really? They help us understand what is important to us, whatwe value and respect, and they indicate which films will become the subject of a very particular care, DVDversions, educational works and processes. These lists represent a canon, a set of essentialcinematographic references.There are multitudes of these lists, and they do not all reflect the same references. Thus, the Top 10 bestforeign films offered by readers of the Guardian in 2007:1. Cinema Paradiso (Tornatore)2. Amelie from Montmartre / Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (Jeunet)3. Seven Samurai / Shichinin no samurai (Kurosawa)4. City of God / Cidade de Deus (Meirelles)5. The Battle of Algiers / La Battaglia di Algeri (Pontecorvo)6. Breathless / A Bout de Souffle(Godard)7. Jean de Florette - Manon des Sources (Berri)8. Bicycle Thieve / Ladri di Biciclette (De Sica)9. Pan’s Labyrinth / Laberinto del fauno (Del Toro)10. In the Mood for Love (Kar Wai)4. Top 10 European films for young audiences, according to exhibitorsIan Christie suggested that exhibitors draw up their own list of films. The exercise could also be suggestedto Young Audiences: a useful piece of work to understand the films admired, valued and known by YoungAudiences. Furthermore, this Top 10 system may be an excellent means of making films known toaudiences – young and not so young – and to professionals. Then we could ask which films should featurein a Top 10 for Young Audiences: Classic films? Recent, successful films? Films produced by ‘small’countries as well as by bigger ones? Films revealing the diversity of different ways of life in Europe?Each exhibitor proposed a Top 10 of the most important European films for Young Audiences. This is theresulting list:1. The Four Hundred Blows / Les 400 Coups (Truffaut, 1959) - 8 votes2. All about my Mother / Todo sobre mi madre (Almodóvar, 1999) - 5 votes3. In joint place - 4 votes each:Metropolis (Lang, 1926)Bicycle Thieves : Ladri di Biciclette (De Sica, 1948)Kes (Loach, 1969)6. 3 votes each (listed in their order of appearance in exhibitors’ lists):Battleship Potemkin / Bronenosets Potyomkin (Eisenstein, 1926)M (Lang, 1931)Nosferatu the Vampire (Murnau, 1922)8½ (Fellini, 1963)Kirikou and the Sorceress / Kirikou et la Sorcière (Ocelot, 1998)And these two:Hate / La Haine (Kassovitz, 1995) and Games of Love and Chance / L’Esquive (Kechiche, 2003) (3 voteseach)10

Workshop ConclusionsIdeas and problems raised by exhibitors Restoration of films which were very successful when released (for example, Sergio Leone),availability of classic films in digital Difficulties extending the range of nationalities of films in programme schedules. Joining togetherthe Top 10 Young Audiences lists of exhibitors and increasing exchange of information to developprogramming of non-national European films. Marketing, even when carried out intensively, is not always sufficient, as is shown by the exampleof the Swinging London event, presented by Leendert de Jong. Possibilities offered by the internet are generally underused by exhibitors. Question: are Young Audiences incompatible with older audiences? Idea: create pod casts of interviews with celebrities in cinemas and make them available onwebsites to enrich the overall film product, try to exchange them, make them available on aEuropean level (downside: language barrier) Use of contents other than cinematographic feature films, such as films produced on mobilephones, pocket films, etc. Question of sale of food and drink: the issue of availability of a café within the film theatre, anissue often raised during the seminar; general view is that it is difficult for a cinema to survivewithout these sources of income. Furthermore, it is an important asset to attract the public. Works by communications consultants specialising in Young Audiences: Generation Einsteinpublication, and on web discussions, John Holden, on the ideas of participation andindividualisation. Promotion of cultural events: how do you communicate with young people? Remark about the question ‘should we change the image of the cinema?’: be careful not toabandon the essence of the cinema, but do make more use of new mediums. Some exhibitors would like a database of information on prints to be available, their condition, theholders of the rights, etc. Ian Christie’s proposal: work on local history of the film industry. Work with local directors (forexample: Madeleine Probst is working on workshops with the Aardman studios, the creators ofWallace and Gromit, and showing films by local directors.)Seminar Comments Exhibitors welcomed the fact that workshops allowed them to take a step back from their own filmtheatre (for example, regarding publications, communication).Requests to Europa Cinemas Exhibitors asked that activities such as workshops on cinema education (for example, workshopson film direction with young people) be recognised more by Europa Cinemas, during evaluation ofactivities for Young Audiences. Another request from exhibitors to Europa Cinemas: they would like to receive more informationabout activities by other cinemas, about ideas developed by other exhibitors, and also about films. Madeleine Probst suggested exchanging information on financial models implemented byexhibitors (financial and business models). Request for coordination regarding questions to the Europa Cinemas network about YoungAudiences.11

BibliographyOn communication strategies:New research on aspects of consumption from the programme Cultures of Consumption:www.consume.bbk.ac.ukJeroen Boschma, Inez Groen, Generation Einstein: Communicating with Young People in the 21stCentury, Keesie, 2007 – summaries in English, French, German and SpanishJohn Knell, ‘Whose art is it anyway?’ available at:www.artscouncil.org.uk/documents/projects/whoseartisitanyway_phpbIPQaf.docAbout ‘canons’:Ian Christie, ‘The Rules of the Game’, Sight and Sound, Sept 2002; ‘Canon Fodder’, Sight and Sound, Dec1992Ginette Vincendeau, ‘The Exception and the Rule’, Sight and Sound, Nov 1992Peter Wollen, ‘Why do some films survive and others disappear?’, Sight and Sound, May 1993Janet Staiger, ‘The Politics of Film Canons, Cinema Journal 24.3, Spring 1985Jonathan Rosenbaum, Movie Wars, Wallflower Press, 2002Gill Perry, ed., Academies, Museums and Canons of Art, Yale, 1999Also, publications by Robert Alter, Harold Bloom, Leslie Fiedler, Robert Von Hallberg, Lawrence Levine,Frank Kermode and Jan GorakWebsitesIndependent Cinema Office: www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/index.htmlEducation heading: www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/education.htmlFirst Light Movies: www.firstlightmovies.comSee also London Children’s Film Festival : www.barbican.org.uk/lcffFilm London : www.filmlondon.org.ukwww.consume.bbk.ac.ukwww.ubu.comAnd the Europa Cinemas members websites which are available on our website : www.europacinemas.orgAlso see on our website the section dedicated to Young Audiences where you can find many linksof websites geared towards Film Education and Young Audiences in whole Europe.12