Beyoncé’s documentary film on her “Renaissance” concert was awaited by the singer’s French fans. One of the screenings turned into a fiasco in a cinema on the Champs-Elysées after a technical problem.
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The wait was felt in the Gaumont cinema on the Champs-Elysées for the French premiere of Renaissance, a film by Beyoncé. The film traces the process of creating the singer’s event tour. Beyoncé fans had to pay €20 to attend this concert on the big screen. Only in the cinema on the most beautiful avenue in the world did spectators not get their money’s worth.
After an hour of the show, out of the 2 hours and 48 minutes initially planned, the screen abruptly stops and will never come back on. It’s hard to know what caused the breakdown.” an electrical blackout” assures a security agent. A manager responds to the stunned spectators: “unfortunately we will have to close the cinema, the film will not resume”. The fans did not digest this announcement even though the evening had started well.
Cinema hall transformed into a concert hall
The “BeyHive”, the nickname of the Beyoncé fan community, was dressed accordingly for the first screening of this documentary film, as during the last two French dates of the concert in Paris and Marseille. Sequins, rhinestone sunglasses, or t-shirts printed with Queen Bey’s face, the public was once again ready to bring back the spirit of Renaissance in dark rooms.
The concert opens with images of jubilant fans. The first song sounds, and Beyoncé appears to the applause of the spectators in the room. Everyone starts humming Dangerously in Love, a song that Beyoncé dedicates to her audience, recalling their unfailing loyalty. At 42, the American singer still brings crowds together and is considered the queen of the music industry.
In this film, she dares to show more of the pressure that an artist of her stature has on her shoulders. Beyoncé must manage her role as mother, woman, wife and superstar, with considerable effort. We learn that it took four years to create the “Renaissance Tour”. We learn that the impressive and massive stage of the show fits in 160 trucks, with an incalculable number of technicians. Beyoncé pays tribute to them by showing the difficulty of their work. She recalls that some people risk their lives by setting up this scene.
Boss lady
In the room, spectators enjoy the reactions of fans in trance filmed during different concert dates in Houston, Inglewood, Paris and even Atlanta. We hear laughter and comments on Beyoncé’s dazzling beauty, her hair, real or not, her voice being judged. wow” or her business woman side who knows what she wants. Beyoncé shows that she is in charge and directs the smallest details of the staging, from the light spot in a corner to the costumes.
The French public of @Beyonce is undeniably the best audience in the world! 🙌🏻 🇫🇷 #renaissanceafilmbybeyonce pic.twitter.com/lz5oEHjeJC
— Le Grand Rex (@LeGrandRex) December 1, 2023
” It’s exhausting, I’m a human, not a machine.” she recalls. In the film we see her, tired, specifying that she has not taken a single day off in 44 days. We see his children accompanying him in rehearsals and to his various meetings. Seeing Beyoncé at work, we realize that she is a great perfectionist who lives for her music, her fans and that she tries to make time for the people she loves.
She is the queen of the music industry and proves it with this tour. During the song Alien Superstar, the sound cuts out and Beyoncé is forced to leave the stage. She shows behind the scenes of this moment which left her fans completely taken aback. While the problem is resolved, we see her decide to change her costume to return to make a spectacular entrance. Unfortunately, this scene was repeated but with a less happy ending for the film’s audience on the Champs-Elysées.
“We are being deprived of this moment”
After an hour of show on the big screen with moments of singing and applause from the public on Energy And Break My Soul, the cinema screen suddenly turns off and the lights come back on. The spectators first believe it to be a joke and are ironic, thinking that Beyoncé will appear as a surprise. After 15 minutes, everyone gets impatient, and the rooms of the Gaumont cinema on the Champs-Elysées empty in search of answers.
A security guard reports a ” power outage”, which we are trying to repair. The spectators return to their seats, others take the opportunity to get some popcorn. There are still two hours of film left, but a cinema manager announces that the screenings will not resume. He distributes reimbursement forms. The fans are furious. ” But there are only two dates for this film! How do we do ?”, says an angry spectator. ” We can wait for you to fix it, we want to see the rest of the movie!” she adds insistently.
Beyoncé returning to the stage for “ALIEN SUPERSTAR” in a brand new costume after audio issues caused an unexpected 10-minute stoppage.#Phoenix #RWT2023 🪩 pic.twitter.com/YDBuSFT42X
— BEYONCÉ LEGION (@BeyLegion) August 25, 2023
Other spectators resign themselves and leave with the form in hand. “It’s really unbearable, there isn’t a day without problems in this city! We are even deprived of this moment”, exasperates Léo accompanied by his best friend. ” The problem is that I won’t have another opportunity to watch the film again! There are only sessions this evening or tomorrow and everything is already sold out. I am disgusted”adds Sarah, an unconditional fan of the singer who has already attended her Parisian concert.
The event nature of these concerts on the big screen is the same as for in-person concerts. Except that in the theater, there are obviously no outstanding technicians to repair the problems with Beyoncé making a spectacular entrance and saving the day. Aggrieved fans can only hope to find this film soon on a video platform like Netflix.
“Renaissance, a film by Beyoncé” can be found in theaters on December 1 and 2 in Pathé and UGC cinemas.