Video publishers' platform at MIFC 2020

This 8th edition of the MIFC gave the floor to three video publishers who are members of L'Appel des 85, the collective that defends the preservation of physical media. This meeting gave an overview of the situation and challenges of the Blu-ray/DVD market.

Tuesday, October 13, 2020, Salle Karbone. During MIFC 2020, three video publishers came to debate during a platform dedicated to them on the need to safeguard physical Blu-ray and DVD media at a time when dematerialized platforms are becoming increasingly important in the daily lives of moviegoers. 

Members of the association L'Appel des 85, which brings together 90% of the profession's video publishers, Natacha Missoffe (Head of video publishing, Potemkine), Vincent Paul-Boncour (Co-founder and director, Carlotta Films) and Hugues Peysson (President, L’Atelier Images) reported on the current situation in the face of recent CNC reforms. "A long term work", according to Hugues Peysson. Natacha Missoffe adds to him: "The association was created shortly before the appearance of Covid-19. In the beginning, there were only ten video publishers. Today, we are 85. Our officialization has made a lot of noise thanks to social networks."

The purpose of the association is about to discuss with the public authorities the importance of the physical support. "We must not be buried alive", ironizes the Head of video publishing of Potemkine. "The physical object has more than ever an interest and there is a real appetite on behalf of the public." The three video publishers discussed passionately about the market situation, especially after the difficult post-quarantine period linked to an unprecedented health crisis. Hugues Peysson is reassuring: "The market is totally dynamic. We've done a lot to break down preconceived ideas, especially about our audience. No, it's not just the Parisians senior manager who watch Blu-ray and DVDs. These media are widely appreciated in the countryside, including by an audience between 15 and 25 years old."

The talking between the 85 video publishers allowed them to display a rare unity. “What motivates us is the transmission of Heritage cinema and the development of a new audience", explains Vincent Paul-Boncour alongside his partners. "We touch everyone, including the youngest. But we have to innovate, and to innovate, we have to exist. And above all, to feed the future." As Natacha Missoffe beautifully says it : "Today's contemporary cinema will become tomorrow's Heritage cinema."

The CNC was at the heart of the podium. Speakers thanked the subsidies already allocated to video publishers while recontextualizing these financial supports in this complex period. Vincent Paul-Boncour adds: "We need your support in this crisis situation, just as exploitation is being helped with a recovery plan, just as cinema distribution is also being helped, just as productions with allocated budgets. It seemed important to us that psychologically and morally we too should be in the loop. Let us not be forgotten in this recovery plan and, of course, let there be additional financial support."

The three speakers also came back to the limit of the Heritage cinema broadcast by France Télévisions: "We regret that it is always the same kind of films that are offered, we are not against Bourvil or De Funès' movies but it should not be the only one", develops Vincent Paul-Boncour. "During the quarantine, we would have liked France Télévisions to give a place at 6pm to films by Renoir or Guitry. Arte, OCS or Ciné+ did it and we proved, given the good audience scores, that there is an audience that responds to it."

During the 45-minute Q&A session with the audience, the three video publishers obviously discussed the thorny issue of dematerialized platforms. "Most of us, when we send an email to Netflix or Amazon... They don't even reply. They don't even give us a little answer about how interesting our catalog is. We don't exist. So, we are not going to let them go because we fully exist in this market with our constant Heritage news", says the co-founder and director of Carlotta Films. For her part, Natacha Missoffe expressed her wish that physical and dematerialized formats will become complementary in the future. Her counterpart Hugues Peysson concluded: "We highlight works so that they continue to exist. And more often than not, this is only possible through the physical medium."

MIFC 2020 Video publishers' Line up 

During the International Classic Film Market (MIFC), a dozen video publishers came to present their 2020/2021 catalog during a panel discussion where many nuggets of heritage cinema were on display.

After the forum granted to the Appel des 85, the traditional line up of video publishers allowed the professionals to present their respective catalogs : Le chat qui fume, Tamasa Distribution, Carlotta Films, ESC Éditions, Arte, Sidonis Production, Malavida, Pathé and Gaumont. In this parade dedicated to Heritage cinema, we find dust-free masterpieces (La Roue by Abel Gance), exploitation movie (the eroticism of Michel Lemoine), cinema classics (through prestige boxes by Yves Robert or Michel Audiard), European films (Andrzej Wajda, Mario Bava) and old westerns (Rio Grande). These treasures of Heritage cinema reflect the approach of L'Appel des 85, show that the physical medium is now a collector's item like a beautiful book. Most of the films presented have benefited from superb high-definition restorations, some prestige boxes are published in limited editions while others are accompanied by retro goodies such as movie posters or postcards. All of which is enough to continue to nourish your cinephilia and discover new gems of a cinema that is not about to disappear.