Support the fight for La Clef Revival

Right now in Paris, hundreds of cinephiles are occupying a cinema to try and save the building from being sold to the highest bidder. 

Since being put on the market by its owner in 2018, the cinema La Clef in the Quartier Latin of the French capital has been occupied by Home Cinema, a non-profit collective which has good reason to believe that the prospective new buyer of the location — the SOS group, headed by the deputy general director of Emmanuel Macron-funded political party La République en marche — will have no intention to maintain the cinema’s model as an independent, associative film theatre.

In a neighbourhood growing more and more gentrified, where real estate speculation is rife and rent prices are steadfastly rising, La Clef Revival (its updated name since Home Cinema moved in) is a last refuge and a glimmer of hope for a cinephilia that is both welcoming and militant. For the past two-and-a-half years, the cinema has organised screenings of often rare and fragile films of all kinds and genres. But far from a dusty repertory theatre cut-off from contemporary realities, La Clef Revival is a rare example of a film venue fully engaged with its local community and in touch with the present and future of filmmaking, with screenings on a pay-what-you-can basis, welcoming viewers of all ages and economic backgrounds; its own film residency; as well as free film education workshops for local schools.

The project has gathered support from celebrated filmmakers including Jean-Luc Godard, Claire Denis, Bertrand Bonello, Céline Sciamma and Guillaume Brac to name just a few. This week alone, with fears of eviction intensifying, the cinema has welcomed Wang Bing, Leos Carax, Frederick Wiseman, Jacques Rancière, Paco Plaza and Claire Denis for completely packed screenings, with film lovers from all horizons turning up in the hundreds from 6am since Tuesday morning to occupy the premises.

Home Cinema have their own plan for buying the cinema while maintaining its independence, keeping ownership of the building separate from its use: the money raised (from donations, sponsoring, public funds and loans) will go to “Cinéma Revival: for an Associative Cinema,” an endowment fund without shareholders, while the association Home Cinema will use the premises by means of a long-term lease.

Animus urges its readers to find out more about this inspiring cinema and community and to share information about Home Cinema’s fight far and wide.