UK Culture Minister Chris Bryant Waxes Lyrical About French Cinema Citing ‘Plein Soleil’ & ‘Les Enfants du Paradis’ As Favorite Films

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UK Culture Minister Chris Bryant showed off his French skills and cinema knowledge on Wednesday as he attended a signing ceremony at the British Film Institute for a screen industries cooperation pact between the BFI and France’s National Cinema Centre (CNC).

The accord envisages stronger collaborations across a range of shared film activities including public policy, heritage, and education as well as knowledge sharing through a BFI and CNC employee exchange program.

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Speaking in French, Bryant welcomed France’s cultural delegation led by counterpart Rachida Dati and CNC President Gaëtan Bruel.

“Our two cultures are extremely close. It’s not only an Entente Cordiale, but an Entente ‘Tres’ Cordiale,” he said, referring to the long-running friendship between the two countries which was first formalized with agreements in 1904.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding at the BFI Southbank took place within the context of a wider three-day state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, the first by a French president since 2008, as well as by a European Union political leader, since Brexit and the UK’s departure from the EU bloc.

Alongside providing a framework within which to discuss issues such as Russia’s War in Ukraine, illegal migration across the English Channel and global insecurity, the visit has also acted as a catalyst for tying up a number of long-gestated cultural initiatives.

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As Macron landed in London on Tuesday, it was announced that the Bayeux Tapestry, illustrating the Norman conquest of England in 1066, would be returning to the UK on loan for the first time in more than 900 years.

The 70-meter embroidery work, which is believed to have been created in Kent, will be displayed in the British Museum in London from next fall until July 2027, while its Bayeux Museum home in northern France undergoes renovation work.

“As Monsieur Macron said last night it’s more important than ever that France and Great Britain exchange culturally and socially every day because we’re living in a difficult world,” said Bryant, referring to a speech by the French president at a royal state banquet on Tuesday attended by UK dignitaries and stars such as Mick Jagger, Elton John and Slow Horses actress Kristin Scott Thomas, who has strong ties with France.

Reverting to English, Bryant went on to reveal that among his favorite films were Marcel Carné’s 1945 classic Les Enfants du Paradisand Rene Clement’s 1960 thriller Plein Soleil (Purple Moon), adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley.

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“It’s a beautiful film… Alain Delon is a wonderful actor,” Bryant said of Plein Soleil, noting how the novel had then been adapted by late UK director Anthony Minghella and revived more recently in the Netflix show starring UK-based, Irish actor Andrew Scott.

He suggested the transnational trajectory of Highsmith’s novel chimed with the cultural interrelationships between the UK and France.

“It’s a strange thing that Studiocanal owns Paddington Bear, which is about as British, or Peruvian… or British-Peruvian as you can get,” he said to laughs over his correction.

“We make a lot of films in the UK, you make a lot of films in France,” he continued. “I feel that our film industry is 100% solidly European in the biggest sense of the term European. Yes, we often make films for American streaming companies and others, but fundamentally we do it out of Europe and that is such an important part of how we function.”

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The signing ceremony, between the CNC’s Bruel and BFI director BFI Chief Executive Ben Roberts, was preceded by a tour of the institute’s BFI Southbank home.

French Culture Minister Dati, who stuck to French for her speech, said she had been impressed by the cinema hub, combining screening facilities, a library and archive and gallery, as well as bar and restaurant spaces.

“On this tour of the BFI today, I find myself inspired to be a little bit more ambitious for cinema. There are so many dimensions to what you do, the screenings, the archive and the education. You really show the cultural heritage,” she said.

Dati commented on her hopes for the agreement suggesting the aims of both sides went beyond a public display of cooperation.

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“Whenever I’m about to sign agreements such as this one, I ask myself what is at stake. In fact, when you reflect on it our two cultures are already sewn together,” she said.

“Last night at dinner, we were reflecting on the most Parisian of Londoner and most London Parisian, Jane Birkin,” she continued referring to the late UK-born actress and singer, who was a cultural icon in France.

“When you think about that, an agreement like this can feel like the cherry on the cake but it’s much more than that. The more I observed this building today and listened to Ben’s explanations, the more I realized there is so much more we can do together.”

Dati also suggested that the time was ripe for stronger UK and French cooperation given the current headwinds facing independent cinema.

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“It is a challenging time for cinema with the event of the streaming platforms and I believe that institutions like the CNC, BFI and British Film Commission can make important interventions here,” she said. “What’s really important is to encourage and support independent production. We’re really in a period of suppression and censor and that’s where we have to intervene to support creatives.

“It’s with this mind that I signed alongside with Chris and others an op-ed that was published at the Cannes Film Festival to reflect on how we must defend our European model of cinema which is synonymous with cultural diversity. We are meeting certain hostile pressures right now from across the Atlantic so I believe what is at stake is nothing less than our cultural sovereignty, and one that is diverse, and that connects us despite our differences.”

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