A partner of the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival since 2003, BNP Paribas is strengthening its commitment this year by also becoming a partner of the “La Quinzaine à la Bocca” operation, a less publicized and popular district of Cannes.
The Directors’ Fortnight is a non-competitive parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival that promotes a certain freedom of spirit, creativity, and independence.
La Quinzaine à la Bocca, an operation organized by the Directors’ Fortnight in partnership with the City of Cannes, aims to expand the event to the eponymous district. The project facilitates a cultural action directed towards the peripheral district of La Bocca and supports audiences usually excluded from such events.
The initiative involves organizing film screenings from the Directors’ Fortnight in two local theaters within the Cannes Cinéphiles framework. Attendees will be offered access to the screenings and the opportunity to meet Directors from the Fortnight, participate in image education workshops, and explore certain cinema professions (screenwriters, film critics, documentary filmmakers, projectionists). Training centers and local associations will also be invited to the Théâtre Croisette screenings under the same conditions as professionals.
The project is intended for all residents of La Bocca, particularly young people in professional and social reintegration, young people in difficulty, adults in training, and associations of women in severe hardship.
BNP Paribas, as a responsible entity, aims to show solidarity with the territories where it is established. This operation mirrors the bank’s engagement in the community and its partnership in support of art that is both significant and popular.
The partnership with the Directors’ Fortnight is also an opportunity for BNP Paribas to organize local events for clients, prospects, and shareholders by offering rigorous programming, especially the debut films of tomorrow’s great directors.
This operation is also replicated from June 22 to 28 in Belgium by BNP Paribas Fortis as part of an exclusive premiere of the Fortnight at the L’Arenberg cinema in Brussels intended for its clients.
BNP Paribas, a responsible player
BNP Paribas has strengthened its position as a responsible player and develops initiatives to share knowledge, combat exclusion, and create jobs, exemplified by the Odyssée Jeunes program in Seine-Saint-Denis, where BNP Paribas is the primary private employer, as well as numerous initiatives worldwide, such as:
- In Morocco, the AMI association and its specific schooling program for children with disabilities.
- In Turkey, an education program that allows over 1,200 young girls to receive schooling for three years.
BNP Paribas, a major player in audiovisual production financing
BNP Paribas’s engagement in the seventh art is reinforced by the group’s long history with cinema.
For over 20 years, BNP Paribas has provided producers, distributors, and post-producers with financing for shoots and post-production through its Audiovisual Agency of experts exclusively dedicated to cinematic and audiovisual activities. The group also holds a stake in the Cofiloisirs financing institution. This commitment was recently strengthened by the merger with Fortis, which is also heavily involved in this area. Thus, in 2010, BNP Paribas participated directly or indirectly in financing about a hundred French films, nearly half of the annual French production.
BNP Paribas, a partner for all cinemas
Continuing a long tradition initiated by BNP with its “The Gunslingers” campaigns, BNP Paribas has rooted its communication in the cinematic world since its inception in 2000. Each of their posters is a pastiche of a cinematic genre.
As of 2005, BNP Paribas was one of the first partners of Luc Besson’s animated films: “Arthur and the Minimoys” and “Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard”.
Furthermore, BNP Paribas became the primary supporter in 2007 of operations organized by the French National Cinema Federation to increase cinema attendance: The Spring of Cinema, The Festival of Cinema, and The Back-to-School Cinema (which became the 1max2ciné operation in September 2010).
BNP Paribas became a partner of the Le Trianon cinema in 2010. Classified as a historical monument, it is a mythical place for cinephiles, both for its architecture and equipment, and because it hosted the show “La Dernière Séance” presented by Eddy Mitchell for 14 years. This partnership will help it play a unique educational role for young people and remain a lively cultural hub for all enthusiasts.
This year, in the short film domain, BNP Paribas becomes a partner of the Mobile Film Festival, which highlights creators who produce one-minute films on a mobile device. The Group also partners with the association Les Toiles Enchantées, led by Alain Chabat, which allows hospitalized or disabled children and teenagers to see current films for free.
Moreover, the bank continues other cinema-supporting actions, backing events like the Télérama Cinema Festival, the Grand Lyon Film Festival, and the César Academy. BNP Paribas also participates in restoring old films (Modern Times in 2003, The Kid, The Gold Rush, and The Circus in 2007) and financing independent French film productions through its Audiovisual Agency.
Following the acquisition of Fortis, it also became a partner of the Liège Film Festival and an event taking place in 450 theaters in Belgium, the BNP Paribas Fortis Film days. In Italy, BNL, BNP Paribas’s subsidiary, is the principal partner of the Rome International Film Festival, which enjoys great success.
