French New Wave
THE FRENCH NEW WAVE LA NOUVELLE VAUGE
During the German occupation French cinema thrived, this was due to the protection given to it from foreign competition. When the war ended American films flooded into the French market, these films were greeted with great enthusiasm, as many were curious about all aspects of American culture. The Blums-Byrnes Agreement regulated the flow of foreign films in the French market. This agreement stated that French films could only be shown for 13 weeks of the year, the rest being left free to show foreign film. This quota was seen as restricting the opportunities for the French film industry to grow, due to the protests generated against this agreement certain measures were introduced to give financial assistance to French film production and exhibition. These were: the loi d'aide of 1948, under which production and exhibition were assisted by a tax on profits; the fonds de developpement, established in 1953 specifically to support artistically ambitious productions; and the fonds de soutien, created in 1959, which provided for interest free loans, allocated on the basis of a project and which were repayable if a film made a profit. Cinema attendances were extremely high during and after the war, this was due in part to this being the only entertainment available, as television was slow to develop in France.
The French cinema, although doing well financially had become creatively stagnant. It had lost its direction with its endless historical reconstructions and uninspired literary adaptations. The French film became more and more formulaic, the likes of Jacque Tati and Robert Bresson who were noted for the cinematic style, not only found themselves isolated but also found it increasingly difficult to finance their films.
Cine-clubs were set up to show old films as many became disillusioned with French film, they would show old films from around the world, and by 1954 there were 200,000 members in 200 cine-clubs. From
During the German occupation French cinema thrived, this was due to the protection given to it from foreign competition. When the war ended American films flooded into the French market, these films were greeted with great enthusiasm, as many were curious about all aspects of American culture. The Blums-Byrnes Agreement regulated the flow of foreign films in the French market. This agreement stated that French films could only be shown for 13 weeks of the year, the rest being left free to show foreign film. This quota was seen as restricting the opportunities for the French film industry to grow, due to the protests generated against this agreement certain measures were introduced to give financial assistance to French film production and exhibition. These were: the loi d'aide of 1948, under which production and exhibition were assisted by a tax on profits; the fonds de developpement, established in 1953 specifically to support artistically ambitious productions; and the fonds de soutien, created in 1959, which provided for interest free loans, allocated on the basis of a project and which were repayable if a film made a profit. Cinema attendances were extremely high during and after the war, this was due in part to this being the only entertainment available, as television was slow to develop in France.
The French cinema, although doing well financially had become creatively stagnant. It had lost its direction with its endless historical reconstructions and uninspired literary adaptations. The French film became more and more formulaic, the likes of Jacque Tati and Robert Bresson who were noted for the cinematic style, not only found themselves isolated but also found it increasingly difficult to finance their films.
Cine-clubs were set up to show old films as many became disillusioned with French film, they would show old films from around the world, and by 1954 there were 200,000 members in 200 cine-clubs. From