Conversation with the CNC

The conversation with the CNC, organized by Le Film français, brought together major stakeholders from the film and audiovisual industry and revisited the challenges and opportunities related to cinematic heritage in France. Moderated by Florian Krieg, Editor-in-Chief, the roundtable gathered Pauline Augrain (Digital Director, CNC), Laurent Cormier (Director of Cinematic Heritage, CNC), Mathias Hautefort (President, SEVAD), Sophie Jardillier (Deputy Director of Studies, Statistics, and Forecasting, CNC), Sabrina Joutard (President, SCFP), and Vincent Paul-Boncour (Co-President, REV). Discussions focused on the effectiveness of public aid, the unexpected vitality of physical publishing, the issues surrounding digital distribution (VOD/SVOD), and the pressing concerns of work preservation in the face of soaring storage costs and technological evolutions, including Artificial Intelligence.

The roundtable began with the traditional unveiling of the CNC's annual study on heritage films:

High Interest: Nearly 90% of French people consume heritage content, mainly via television (declining) and Transactional Video on Demand (TVOD) (growing). YouTube is as popular as cinema for this.
Dynamic Theaters: 3.9 million admissions (2nd highest level since 1997), with per-screening performance exceeding new releases. Re-releases generate 20% of heritage admissions.
Resilient Video:
- Heritage represents one-third of sales in physical video, slowing the market's overall decline.
- TVOD transactions are sharply rising: 5.8 million (+29.2%).
Critical Discoverability: 55% of French people report not being able to find the heritage film they are looking for (an increase). Only 60.5% of films from 1996–2004 are legally available (mostly on VOD).

The complete study is available here.

Funding and Heritage Conservation

The opening of the discussion was marked by the announcement of an additional million euros from the CNC for heritage restoration, a move welcomed by professionals.

Increased Support: This funding allows for the addition of an extra annual commission for restoration and digitization aid, meaning about four more films are aided per year.
Digital Safeguarding: Crucial aid was introduced for films released before 2010, targeting works with reading difficulties ("digital hole").
CNC Collaboration: The industry reiterated the unique nature of the French system, funded by professionals themselves, ensuring constructive collaboration between the CNC and unions.
Preservation Demand: The SCFP highlighted the explosion of digital storage costs (several thousand euros per film) and advocates for the CNC's heritage budget share to reach 1% (up from the current 0.4%), calling for a global industry consultation in 2026 to share costs.
Fighting Abandonment: The CNC acknowledged the issue of "orphan" films (missing producers) and the need to simplify procedures to free up exploitation rights.

The Resilient Physical Video Market

Despite the digital context, the physical video market (DVD, Blu-ray, UHD) demonstrates unexpected vitality, driven by an offer of excellence.

Key Figures: The market represents 180 million euros in turnover, and physical heritage video accounts for one-third of this market.
French Excellence: France is cited as a unique case globally for the diversity and quality of its independent video editions.
Future Format: UHD (4K) is growing, attracting an increasingly demanding audience on technical quality.
CNC Aid: The budget for selective aid to physical publishing is maintained at 4.1 million euros, with 65% allocated to heritage, guaranteeing editorial diversity.
REV Advocacy: The REV regretted that no increase in this envelope was applied, unlike in other sectors.

Digital Distribution and Discoverability

VOD and digital platforms are central to efforts to make heritage accessible but face economic and visibility challenges.

VOD Reform: The CNC implemented a new automatic aid mechanism for platforms, financed by the TSV, encouraging the promotion of French films, including heritage.
Accessibility: VOD/SVOD platforms can offer up to 28,000 films, ensuring long-term exploitation of works and combating piracy.
Discoverability: A striking figure reveals that 55% of viewers fail to find the heritage film they are looking for.
"Gap" in Media Chronology: The SEVAD pointed out the issue of the period between theatrical release and video/VOD, during which films are unavailable, encouraging piracy.
Threat of Free Content: The rise of free models (AVOD) is weakening the economy of paid offers, pushing actors to seek new monetization models.

AI and Image Education

The end of the roundtable addressed the impact of AI and the importance of physical media for viewer education.

Role of AI: AI is seen as a new massive search engine, and the CNC aims to positively influence its results to improve the legal discoverability of works. The Centre is working to promote the responsible and ethical use of AI by professionals.
Education: It was recalled that physical media, particularly through media libraries, and television broadcasting (public service) are vital for image education and training the audience of tomorrow.