| By Layla Revis March 22nd, 1895. Paris, France. Two brothers enter Paris's Société d'Encouragement pour l'Industrie Nationale. With a cinematograph in hand, they begin to hand crank a film from a projector. A fascinated crowd of friends and co-workers look on in awe. Forty-six seconds later, applause erupts. The film, entitled La Sortie des Usines Lumière was exactly that, "Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory," and it was one of the first film screenings in history. William Lincoln's Zoetrope and Edison's Kinetoscope aside, this was the beginning of the movie-going experience. Les frères Lumière followed this screening with a public one nine months later (December 28), giving us what came to be referred to as "the birth of commercial cinema." It's ironic that, Louis, the younger of the two Lumière brothers, uttered, "The cinema is an invention without a future." Although he may have lacked the vision to see the promise of cinema, there is still no mistaking the impact the Lumière family had on film as a celebrated art form, and the French have continued to possess a passionate pursuit of art and a distinct conversation with love and life that has stood the test of time. New Wave iconoclasts Truffaut, Godard and Chabrol stand in the ranks alongside popular film icons like Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve. France's dedication to emotional, powerful filmmaking is simply undeniable. The French Film and TV Department of the French Embassy in Los Angeles Embracing their artists and filmmakers, the French Film and TV Department of the French Embassy in Los Angeles is what now serves as a local representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Film Department. Supporting and promoting the French film and television industries on the West Coast, the Department not only facilitates contacts between U.S. and French entertainment industry executives, but also exercises activities in the fields of cinema, television and radio, and new technologies applied to these fields. It specializes and supports the release of French features, imports French programs to the United States, and reports on trends and developments in the film industry. The department also works in association with American universities, film schools, cultural institutions and film festivals to program contemporary French movies, retrospectives and showcases dedicated to French filmmakers or classic French films. In a mouthful, the French Film Office is actively participating in keeping the love of the "City of Lights" cinema very much alive in the City of the Angels. What exactly do they do? They organize visits of French professionals to the United States, promote the French system of education in administering the careers of professors and scholars from France working in the United States, and represent the French government in schools under contract or accredited by the French Ministry of Education. Not only does the department inform students and American professionals going to France on procedures to follow, but they also provide professional contacts. With that screenplay gathering dust on the shelf, are you starting to wish you were French and shopping your manuscript? Before heading the Los Angeles Film Office of the French Embassy, Laurent Morlet, executive director of the L.A. Film and TV Office, was an Artistic Producer with TF1 and France 2. Two years ago, he had the wonderful opportunity to travel abroad and settle down in Los Angeles, which he describes as one of his favorite cities in the world. Creativity, Independence, and Exposure "Promoting French Films in the capital of cinema is more than a chance; it is a dream come true," Morlet admits. "With the support of the Consul General, we host a number of events, such as sneak previews, press conferences and anti-piracy seminars, and support to the major international film festivals in the area." It's a job that marries pop culture with art, and travel with media expertise. His goals are simple. "Our primary goal is to build bridges between French and American professionals from the film industry," Morlet explains. "We try to raise business exchanges between France and the United States, build a strong network around French Films through the local media and our local partners (such as American Cinematheque), but also prominent film schools such as UCLA, USC and AFI. We also want to promote and introduce French new faces." A welcome break from the over-exposed celebrities we seem to encounter on every Hollywood rag from InTouch to US Weekly. Working within limited budgets, the French Film and TV Department must make every cent count, often working with American partners that help sponsor their grand efforts. "Our yearly budget is, unfortunately, less and less consequent," Morlet admits. "Times are hard! I am not allowed to disclose a specific amount, but it is a good indication for you to know that when we give a financial support to one of our American cultural partners (festivals, American Cinematheque, Cultural centers, Film Department of Museum), it never goes over $2,500 per year." In addition to a tight-lipped response with regards to budgetary limitations, Morlet (with a smile, of course) couldn't comment on how the merger between Canal+ and TF1 will affect French cinema. And yet, with the current growth of French cinema, Morlet believes the borders between countries are not as tight as they used to be. "I think that the American audience, and notably the young generation, is more and more open to a different kind of cinema. For instance, the foreign film section of Netflix is more and more popular." That said, how does Morlet, as well as other filmmakers and executives, feel about the trend of foreign film being re-made in English? "This is not a trend," he says. "It has always been like that. There is a market for remakes. The American audience is not used to subtitles and voice-overs. Comedies or movies based on comic situations are the first kind of French films to be ‘remade' in the U.S., mainly because of the humor, which could be different from a country to the other. Basically, a remake is a good thing when it is done well and when it keeps the essence, the body, of the original film." The biggest challenge facing French cinema today is, as Morlet says, not the remake, but the fact that too often, when people think of French cinema, they think of the "classics" and the "nouvelle vague." Morlet's drive today is to bring international exposure to the underdogs, the new talent that he believes need to be brought into light, and his drive today is to bring an international exposure to those underdogs. With films like Amélie, Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien (With a Friend Like Harry) and Une liason pornographique (An Affair of Love), French cinema's best assets seem to be showing their colors. Independence, creativity, and a strong national system of offering financial support to newcomers or interesting projects: These are the secrets, Morlet says, of French cinema's success. Throughout the year, events like the 11th Annual City of Lights, City of Angels Festival feature a bevy of performances by popular actors, including Marion Cotillard, Audrey Tautou, Cécile de France, Emmanuelle Béart, Nathalie Baye and Catherine Deneuve, as well as two of Britain's popular bi-lingual stars, Kristin Scott Thomas and Charlotte Rampling. At the COLCOA festival held in April, forty new films, including twenty features and new shorts, were shown with an opening film, La Vie en Rose, a masterful biopic of Edith Piaf by writer-director Olivier Dahan, starring Marion Cotillard and Gérard Depardieu. Some of the most representative filmmakers of the new generation - including Olivier Dahan, Olivier Assayas, Bruno Dumont, Guillaume Canet, Pierre Salvadori, Roschdy Zem, Antoine de Caunes and Thomas Gilou - will present their films. In addition, the French Office also holds a regular series of screenings celebrating the works of leaders like Godard (Forever Godard), allowing eager Francophiles to get their fix. With a culture so entrenched in the Gallic mindset that the French government has dedicated a ministerial office responsible for film and television, it's no wonder Morlet feels so attached to his position. "French Cinema is not only a business," he explains. "It is part of a heritage, part of our own culture, and, moreover, part of our own life." | 
