Art house cinemas in Star Wars row

A ROW has erupted between Walt Disney and French art house cinemas in the run-up to the opening of the latest instalment of the Star Wars franchise.

The Star Saint-Exupéry cinema in Strasbourg is one of 12 art house film theatres in France that claims the distributor has refused to let them screen Star Wars: The Force Awakens in English on its nationwide December 16 release, Rue 89 reports.

As well as Strasbourg, art house theatres in Lilles, Reims, Nancy, Le Havre, Caen, Angers, Saint-Etienne, Dijon, Montpellier, Grenoble and Cannes all say they do not have permission to screen the film until January, despite having posters to advertise the film, and having screened trailers.

Stéphane Libs, the director of the Star cinemas, including the Star Saint-Exupéry, said: “Tickets for Star Wars are ready to buy but we do not know yet if we will have a copy of the film.

“We have shown every Star Wars film since the beginning of the saga. Our cinemas have 10 rooms. Their distribution in no way infringes on our art house programming. In the past, we have shown The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings at Christmas with great success.

“Star Wars is not just a mainstream movie, it's a whole audience movie. It has its place in our cinema.”

Sylvain Pichon, director of the Méliès cinema in Saint-Etienne, has started a change.org petition in protest
at what the art house cinemas regard as a deliberate boycott. It has more than 16,000 signatures.

On the petition site, M Pichon argues: “[Star Wars] is an integral part of our culture and is not ‘mass audience’ but ‘all audience’. To refuse us a copy… is to marginalise us…

“Why should multiplex audiences alone have the right to see the new film on its national release? Why should art house cinemas and their loyal audiences have to wait until January before seeing the film event of the year?”

Disney, however, has denied the claims. In a statement, it said: “We are surprised to learn that some exhibitors from major French cities claim that there is a boycott of the art house cinemas, as Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be released December 16, 2015 in nearly 282 art house theatres in France.

“Disney has worked in France for a long time with all the exhibitors, including art house cinemas, and strongly respect their work.”

But the cinemas have hit back, saying that most of the 282 cinemas on Disney’s ‘art house’ list are in smaller towns and are often the only theatre in the area, so the rules are more relaxed.

France’s médiatrice du cinéma, Jeanne Seyvet, is reported to be working to resolve the conflict.

Art house cinemas in France receive tax breaks for screening mostly officially approved ‘art house’ films - 70% of their programming must feature such films. The remaining space in their schedules can be filled with mainstream movies, such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, in its original format with French subtitles, at the management’s discretion.

Image: Star Saint-Exupéry