It is a vast project. The former premises of France Tabac were chosen to respond to a call for tenders launched by the CNC, as part of the cinema recovery plan supported by the State.
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Sarlat again under the spotlight. While its 31st film festival has just closed, the city soon plans to host film studios. The project is supported, in particular, by the community of municipalities, the department and the Region.
Closed in 2019, the former tobacco factory has nearly 28,000 m2 of premises. Huge potential for future shoots. The Dordogne and cinema is a great love story. It all started in 1928 with the silent film Captain Smash by Alberto Cavalcanti. Closer to our time, there have been Jeanne D’Arc by Luc Besson (1999), Wretched by Robert Hossein (1982) or even The Pact of the Wolvess by Christophe Gans (2001). Between 100 and 200 shooting days are counted each year. So having film studios would be an additional asset for the region, which sometimes misses out on major film projects due to a lack of infrastructure to shoot indoors. “We are still faced with this problem, especially on capturing big Hollywood projects. We have just missed one because we had all the exterior sets for the film but we just lacked the studios” reports Thierry Bordes of the association Ciné passion 24.
Owning film studios would also have a financial impact on the region. “When a 1,500 m2 studio is shooting, there are 150 to 300 people on site. So economically, it’s very important. For example, Ridley Scott’s last film, 11 days of shooting in the sector, it’s 17 million euros invested in the local economy”, reports Benoît Secrestat, departmental adviser.
This project is now in the hands of the National Cinema Center (CNC), which must decide by the end of the year. If the communities obtain funding, the first phase of work could begin between 2023 and 2025.