Marseille: this famous free film school will set up at the Docks des suds

During his visit to Marseilles (Bouches-du-Rhône), Rima Abdul Malak, Minister of Culture, confirmed the opening of the CineFabrique Marseille. The institution is one of the four public higher schools of cinema.

Accompanied by a branch of the French cinematheque, they should replace the current concert hall of the Docks des suds by 2027.

The CineFabrique

The School is a public establishment intended to train young students between the ages of 18 and 25 in the professions of movie theater and audiovisual. A CinéFabrique already exists in Lyons and a preparatory orientation class opened in Marseilles this year.

With the Louis-Lumière school and La Fémis in Paris as well as the National School of Audiovisual in Toulouse, it is one of the four public schools where cinema is taught. His course, based on practice (100 films are made each year) and offering a third year in work-study, makes it very popular and therefore selective.

However, the school is distinguished from other establishments by its policy of social diversity. The writing is not discriminating during the entrance examination and no diploma is required to be admitted. passed the competition, education is free.

The antenna of the French cinematheque

“Marseille does not have a cinematheque worthy of the name, whereas it was here that the first cinema in France opened in 1895”, recalls Jean-Marc Coppola, deputy for culture at the town hall of Marseille.

This is why a branch of the French cinematheque will open with the CinéFabrique. It will be a relay to that of Paris, having access to all its databases and being able to accommodate exhibitions, training workshops or awareness.

Architecturally, nothing is as extravagant as that of Paris or Toulouse. As with the Cinéfabrique, it will take up residence in the Des docks des suds buildings.

“We keep the envelope and we build inside”, specifies Jean-Marc Coppola, before adding: “a branch of the French cinematheque in Marseille is already good”.

“Consolidating the sector”

In 2021, Marseille hosted no less than 1,260 days of shooting. A figure that has risen again in 2022. The city has become the new Eldorado of cinema in France and records more than €83 million in economic benefits thanks to the sector.

However, this does not fully satisfy Jean-Marc Coppola, who considers that projects such as the CinéFabrique or the branch of the cinematheque are essential for: “consolidating the sector and stop talking about Marseille only for filming“.

Because if the landscapes and the climate of Marseille attract teams from all over, the city remains behind when it comes to local productions.

Paradoxically, the department attracts film shoots, but local actors, and all the hands of the Marseille audiovisual industry, are often left behind when a big Parisian or American production comes down with their cameras… and their teams.

Moreover, the abrupt end of the Plus belle series life has turned the local audiovisual job market upside down. Many intermittent workers have seen the durability of their status threatened.

Projects like the branch of the Cinémathèque Française and the CinéFabrique are supposed to boost creativity and restore cachet to the local workforce. For the cultural assistant, it is also a way of refocusing cinema on its essence: “cinema is above all art, it’s not just numbers”.

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