Distribution/Cinema Management course

Programme overview by Dominique Erenfrid, Jean-Michel Rey and Emmanuel Papillon,
Heads of the Distribution/Cinema Management Department.

"The Distribution/Cinema Management programme is a two-year course.

The core objective of the department since it was founded in 2003 remains the same: meet the needs of the industry facing so many drastic changes. Rapid technological developments, the emergence of new and competitive media and growing management restrictions are making the distribution and cinema management industry more complex. ’On-the-job training’ that has provided an apprenticeship for so many years no longer cuts the mustard. The distribution and management aspect of the cinema industry demands people who are immediately operational.

For La Fémis, this represents a twofold objective: to assemble all the cinema specialisations under the same roof and supply professionals from a cinema background to the distribution and management sectors.
During the first term, students in the Distribution/Cinema Management Department will participate in the common core syllabus followed by all first-year students that provides the building blocks of the fllmmaking process.

After the first three months, the students will specialise in distribution and cinema manangement. The programme is devised around a sequence of theoretical and practical sessions (observation internships, festivals, site visits, etc.), the gradual acquisition of industry know-how, the development of a cinema culture, international experience and personal development. This is all fleshed out with industry-specific seminars, talks, film analysis sessions and workshops attended by all students at La Fémis.

The department gives training in every type of distribution process and cinema (experimental cinemas, multiplexes, art-house cinemas, majors, independent distributors. etc.). The diversity of film disciplines is reflected in the teaching of every practice specific to each craft. The aim is train up ’mobile’ professionals.
The programme tries not to hold up certain practices over others and to this end endeavours to contribute to the creativity of the sector.
There are no lectures. Rather the programme stimulates discussion between the tutors (all working industry professionals) and the students.

At each step of the way, students are encouraged to develop their own personal culture and way of thinking. This individual investment also has practical benefits as students are expected to carry out a project at the end of the course.

Experience from previous years shows that students with a responsive attitude, sense of curiosity and outward-looking approach will benefit most from the teaching method."