In Marseille, the antenna project of the French Cinematheque fuels hopes and controversies
All white walls and golden moldings, the renovated facade of the historic Alhambra cinema has a beautiful look. A few meters from the post office, opposite the Denis bar and its lot of regulars, this art house is a mythical place in L’Estaque, this village-like district. A fisherman’s den, which is no longer really Marseille as this 16th arrondissement is so far from the centre, L’Estaque is also the favorite playground of director Robert Guédiguian. It is his friend and colleague William Benedetto who runs L’Alhambra: affable and available, he tells us about the daily life of his team, which strives to offer programming that is both accessible and demanding, by meeting the public. popular neighborhoods. “We are fighting day by day so that local kids can have cinema experiences in theaters he says. Marseille cinema lacks new stories, and it is in the margins that we have to look for them…”
Less glamorous than its Cannes rival, which has just hosted the 75th International Film Festival, less flashy too, Marseille nonetheless occupies a place of choice in the history of the 7th art, which we think of the great Pagnol and Guédiguian, or to figures less known to the public such as Paul Carpita (1922-2009). In September, President Macron took advantage of a trip to Marseille to announce his intention to “modernize” the city’s audiovisual sector – in particular through the creation of studios and an associated film school – and to set up a branch of the Cinémathèque française, the institution based in Paris. “ The project is there, the cultural and artistic authorities are there. […] It all makes sense and matches what the actors in Marseille wear “, he declared, among other announcements (more publicized) of investments for the city.
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