A long-standing project that has always been postponed or obstructed, the creation of a film museum is once again on the table, following an article published in Le Monde on October 18. Written in collaboration with members of the Cinémathèque française board of directors, the article calls for “an error of history” to be righted, and for the creation of a true cultural center dedicated to the seventh art. The French Ministry of Culture is considering the feasibility of the project.
A film museum could soon be built in Paris
Costa Gavras, Nathalie Baye and Carole Bouquet are all members of the board of directors of the Cinémathèque française, and are all in favor of creating a film museum in a “more suitable” location. Like the Oscars Museum in Los Angeles, the vision behind such a place would be“to radiate, disseminate and perpetuate an art that it invented and which, in 2025, will celebrate its hundred and thirtieth anniversary.”
Drawing on the Cinémathèque’s fine collection of costumes, sets and other props, the project could eventually combine“scenographic installations and screenings, educational workshops and scholarly research into the history of cinema.” In short, a veritable temple dedicated to the seventh art, while the current Cinémathèque is “not adapted” to such a concept.
This is not the first time that a film museum has been envisaged in Paris. For more than 20 years, the Palais de Chaillot was home to a similar facility, before a fire in 1997 turned everything upside down. The next few years could see the creation, at long last, of a true film museum. On the government side, Minister Rachida Dati intends to “study this project in detail”. To be continued.