La Clef (cinema)

Cinema in Paris, France

Cinéma la Clef in 2016

La Clef is a cinema in Paris, France.[1][2]

## History[edit]

The cinema was founded in 1973 by Claude Frank-Forter, with the goal of promoting underrepresented filmmakers and of offering affordable prices. In 1981, after the cinema industry across France hit a recession, Frank-Forter sold the cinema to the Groupe Caisse d'Épargne. In 1990, filmmaker Sanvi Panou founded the Images d'Ailleurs project in the cinema, with the goal of presenting African and South America content.

In 2015, the Groupe Caisse d'Épargne announced that it would be selling the building in which the cinema was located. In 2018, the Groupe announced that the cinema would be closing down.[3]

In 2019, a local radical group calling itself the Cinéma La Clef Revival Collective began an occupation of the building, intending to re-open the cinema and continue its operations under a democratic structure.[4][5][6] On the first night of the occupation, the collective screened the film Attica, about the Attica Prison riot. Later in 2019, the cinema was the site of an action taken by striking workers from the Paris Opera Ballet, who put on a performance of Swan Lake.[7] The collective also launched a programme titled Studio 34 to support young filmmakers in creating short films.[8]

On 1 March 2022, the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité raided the cinema and evicted the collective, ending the occupation after three years.[9][10] Later that month, municipal councillor Danielle Simonnet proposed a motion for the Council of Paris to buy the cinema and allow the collective to continue operations, however the motion was rejected by the city executives.[11]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "La Clef, cinéma fermé qui projette des films sur le toit pendant le confinement". 23 April 2020.
2. ^ "Cinéma la Clef. A pocket guide to cinematic insubordination | the State of Cinema".
3. ^ "La dernière séance du cinéma la Clef, à Paris". Le Monde.fr. 16 April 2018.
4. ^ "Cinéma : à Paris, les squatteurs reprennent La Clef en main – Libération". Next.liberation.fr. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
5. ^ "La lutte continue pour la Clef, le dernier cinéma associatif de Paris".
6. ^ "Le cinéma la Clef se prend la porte".
7. ^ "Fighting for Paris' last community cinema".
8. ^ "Mobilisons-nous pour la Clef, dernier cinéma associatif parisien".
9. ^ "La Clef, dernier cinéma associatif de Paris évacué par la police".
10. ^ "Le combat se poursuit pour garder en vie la Clef, le dernier cinéma associatif de Paris". 2 February 2022.
11. ^ "Le cinéma associatif la Clef ne sera pas racheté par la Ville de Paris".