Two million views on a teaser in three weeks and €50,000 raised by crowdfunding. Can this idea to make a film with little or no money change the rules of the game?
In three weeks the trailer-teaser of this project has had more than 2.5 million views. Paris est Une fête is the big buzz right now. It’s impossible to ignore the event and the small revolution that has hit the independent cinema in France and independent cinema in particular.
It’s been three years in the making but the anticipation shows no sign of waning.
The film is about Anna, who misses the flight she should have taken to meet Greg in Barcelona. The plane crashes. Overwhelmed by the shock of a death that has been narrowly avoided, she moves away from reality and the present. As her marriage breaks up, Paris begins to mirror her distress.
But the real story behind the story is the one where a dozen young film buffs decide to embark on what seemed like a crazy project a little over four years ago. This group of actors, directors, producers all wanted to change the codes of the cinema. And they wanted to prove to themselves that they could make a film from idea to silver screen without funding. History appears to be proving them right.
Their crowdfund appeal was initially for €30,000 but raked in €50,000. And now they’ve raised the barrier to €85,000.
With the money raised the group is clear about its major objective: independence. With this money we do not have to compromise, says Elisabeth Vogler.
We are in charge of the ship’s direction and in our bid to bring it to the big screen, she added. The group intends to record the background music using a local orchestra of 40 young musicians from Île-de-France. “We are doing it here rather than from Eastern Europe (as is often the case)” it says.
The city of Paris is a fully-fledged character in the film. Filming embraced the state of tension of the capital. A €4,000 budget meant the crew was forced to use events such as the demonstration in support for Charlie Hebdo or Nuit Debout as backdrops.
The community is king
While many focus on the money raised by the crowdfunding, we at Boostyourfilm are convinced that the real gem is the community that has been created by this phenomenon.
This mirrors the opinion of William Page, co-founder of Filmdoo in a Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival forum: the money raised by the crowdfunding is not the important issue here, he says. The community is what will push this project to bigger and better things.
With 2.5 million people having seen the teaser, it is likely that many will watch the film when it comes out at the cinema. And after they have watched it, they will tell their friends. And this is crucial, says Page, in this brave new world of cinema.
Paris est une fête – Introduction
Une autre façon de faire des films est possible. On vous raconte comment on a tourné un long métrage à Paris pendant les trois dernières années. Soutenez-nous sur Kickstarter : http://kck.st/2DvQIFc
Publié par Paris est une fête sur vendredi 19 Janvier 2018
Translated from an article written by Philippe Mathieu
