The Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, on Saturday 19 October in Lyon, supported the establishment of a national cinema museum in France, which was requested by figures of the 7th Arts, calling for “real thoughts on this”.
Such a project was defended in a column published Friday in Le Monde, in which the Cinémathèque française board of directors – including its president, filmmaker Costa-Gavras, and actress Carole Bouquet – called for the birth of such an institution to become “an additional but important incarnation of our country’s ambition to promote, disseminate and preserve the art it creates”.
Invited on Saturday to the Lumière festival in Lyon, the minister first stated that he had read this column and that it was necessary “study this project in detail”according to his speech sent to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“Unique heritage collection in the world”
“But I still want to tell you my deepest beliefs. And this deep belief resonates completely with you and you know it”continued Rachida Dati, adding “The time has come to move forward by starting a real reflection on the feasibility of this museum”while the cinema will celebrate its 130th anniversary in 2025.
To support his statement, he mentioned “unique collection of relics in the world” stored “in a casket for almost thirty years” and the fire that tore through the roof of the Palais de Chaillot in 1997, where the Cinémathèque française is located.
