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39-434: The festival was the brainchild of leisure entrepreneur Gérard Brémond of Pierre & Vacances and advertiser fr:Lionel Chouchan . Brémond had established the ski resort of Avoriaz in 1966, in cooperation with Olympic downhill skiing gold medallist Jean Vuarnet . He commissioned Chouchan to create an event that would help publicize his winter sports business. Chouchan suggested a fantastic film festival after witnessing

78-472: A crime novel talking place during a fictionalized version of the festival, was written by author Gilbert Picard and published in France in 1990. Pierre %26 Vacances Groupe Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs ( French pronunciation: [ɡʁup pjɛʁ e vakɑ̃s sɑ̃tœʁ paʁk] ) specializes in tourism services, providing holiday and entertainment villages , leisure activity residences and hotels under

117-650: A joint venture with Deutsche Bank , it acquired Center Parcs Europe, a large resort parks company. In July 2001, it acquired the ski resort operations of Groupe Washington at the Valmoral resort and, in September of that year, Club Méditerranée 's Maeva SA. This operation made Pierre & Vacances the leader in the French market. In 2002, the Italian company Valtur was added to Pierre & Vacances' portfolio. In 2003,

156-480: A relatively low cost. The new owners also received a small, but guaranteed, percentage from rental fees and could exchange their properties with anyone within the Pierre & Vacances network. The new concept enabled the company to grow without taking on debt. In 1988, Pierre & Vacances started to acquire rival companies. The first purchases included Geer (developments Cap Esterel, Les Coches and Port-Bourgenay on

195-457: A screen play he was wary of losing the original style, and he hated snipping scenes he liked. "So I always work the same way. I write. Then I leave it alone three weeks before reworking it. At that point, it’s no longer the book I’m adapting, but my script. For A Spot of Bother I wrote five different versions, then Alfred worked on my final version to make his shooting script." Michel Blanc translated and adapted several English-language plays for

234-417: A similar practice was used for the festival itself. Unlike Sitges, Avoriaz actively courted celebrity jurors with art or mainstream cinema credentials, which was as much an effort to legitimize the genre as it was a nudge to mass media. By Chouchan's own retrospective admission, Avoriaz was an image-conscious and exclusive affair, with few members of the public allowed within the festival's perimeter, although it

273-449: A skiing "village" and resort , called Avoriaz , which adopted innovative concepts. Vehicles were forbidden inside the village and children had their own sectors. The style of the buildings was designed to harmonize with the surrounding landscape. Interest in the resort increased in 1973, when Brémond (a film buff) inaugurated a science fiction festival. The company adopted the name Pierre & Vacances in 1975, developing more resorts in

312-505: Is mainly controlled by Gerard Brémond using a complex system of holding companies as shareholders. Michel Blanc Michel Blanc (16 April 1952 – 4 October 2024) was a French actor, writer and director. He is noted for his roles of losers and hypochondriacs . He is frequently associated with Le Splendid , which he co-founded, along with Thierry Lhermitte , Josiane Balasko , Christian Clavier , Marie-Anne Chazel and Gérard Jugnot . He also appeared in more serious roles, such as

351-532: The Mediterranean Sea ) and Sogerva and Port du Crouesty (facilities on the Atlantic coast). Pierre & Vacances emerged relatively unscathed from economic crisis in the 1990s, and accelerated its expansion by purchasing struggling rivals such as Société des Montagnes de l'Arc (1993), Rocher Soleil (1996) Sofap Loisirs and Pont-Royal (1997). Pont-Royal was a key piece in the company's growth, because

390-516: The Prix de l'Étrange (approximately translating as "Eeriness Prize"), in order to further highlight atmospheric films over graphic ones. In 1990, the Fear Section was closed outright, and extreme cinema was limited to out-of-competition screenings. As the 1980s gave rise to bigger, high concept productions, the festival's handpicked juries of prestigious but subversion-prone auteurs clashed with

429-563: The Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord , which had its premiere during the theatre’s 2013-2014 season. As an actor he was sometimes dubbed a "sad clown" in the press, but he said this missed the mark. He told the French media and culture periodical Télérama "I'm not a sad clown at all, I'm a worried clown". Blanc is one of a few people to have won awards at the Cannes Film Festival in both a creative and performing role, winning

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468-613: The Clair de Lune ) after Terrence McNally and Tantine et moi  in 2005 ( Vigil , aka Auntie and Me ) after Morris Panych . A devotee of classical music since childhood, in 2004 he gave the premiere of the monodrama for speaker and orchestra by Eric Tanguy, Sénèque, dernier jour in Paris with the Orchestre National de Bretagne . Blanc also wrote the text for Tanguy's theatrical work, Photo d’un enfant avec une trompette , for

507-668: The French State had granted it permission to construct over 20,000 square metres in the Provence region. The company quickly adapted to the new market demands. In 1998, it launched the "eco-village" in the Picardy region and opened its first facilities outside France, in Martinique and Guadeloupe . Pierre & Vacances became a holding company , gathering all its subsidiaries under its name. In 1999, Pierre & Vacances

546-689: The French entertainment industry, as he was venturing into filmmaking with his new company Marathon Productions . Ultimately, the French Film Festival underperformed and was shut down after just three years. For his part, Chouchan took the original concept to the Vosges resort of Gérardmer and created a spiritual successor, the Gérardmer International Fantastic Film Festival , which still exists as of 2022. Avoriaz, les fantômes du festival ,

585-570: The French stage, such as Je veux faire du cinéma in 1992 ( I ought to be in pictures ) by Neil Simon , Temps variable en soirée in 1996 ( Communicating Doors ) after Alan Ayckbourn , Espèces menacées  in 1997 ( Funny money ) by Ray Cooney , La Chambre bleue  in 1999 ( The Blue Room , after La Ronde ) by David Hare , La Valse à Manhattan  in 2001 ( The West Side Waltz ) by Ernest Thompson , L'amour est enfant de salaud  in 2003 ( Things we do for love ) by Alan Ayckbourn, Frankie et Johnny au clair de lune  in 2004 ( Frankie and Johnny in

624-553: The Grand Prize that year on the basis on an excessively weak selection. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre took the Critics' Prize. In 1985, popular actor Michel Blanc —who was a festival guest but not a jury member—publicly and repeatedly lambasted The Terminator , calling it "a harrowingly dumb film". The film still won the Grand Prize and the French market ended up contributing a disproportionate amount to its worldwide gross. By

663-531: The Pierre & Vacances' holding became the sole owner of Central Parcs. In 2007, Pierre & Vacances and Accor formed a joint venture to create a new company, called Adagio, with the aim of developing city residences in Europe. That year it also acquired a real estate development company focused on Mediterranean style villages for elderly people (Les Senioriales SA) and the Sunparks Group. In 2009,

702-406: The absence of Coppola's film, that edition featured a Dracula retrospective and Christopher Lee as president in the jury. Festival executives subsequently complained that large distributors were now demanding award guarantees to enter their flagship films in the event, something they did not want to give. Avoriaz's rift with the majors necessitated a return to smaller—and gorier—films, although there

741-631: The brands Pierre & Vacances, Maeva, Center Parcs , Sunparks , and Adagio (the last in partnership with Accor ). The headquarters of the company is in France and the core area of the company's activities is France, but it also has facilities in Belgium , Mauritius, the Netherlands , Switzerland, Austria , Germany, Italy and Spain. In 1967, Gérard Brémond (the future developer and main owner of Pierre et Vacances) and Jean Vuarnet (a French Olympic ski champion) entered partnership to open

780-403: The comedy Marche à l'ombre , starring alongside Gérard Lanvin in 1984. The sharp dialogue and the contrast between the main duo assured the film a great success that year with over 6 million cinema entries. Blanc commented in 2010 "I’m very wary about forming habits when it comes to film-making, and art in general". In terms of his working methods as a writer, in adaptating a novel or text for

819-418: The distinction between films whose artistic merits were deemed worthy of the main competition and those that would be relegated to the Fear Section was unclear. For instance, the original Hellraiser was consigned to the Fear Section, but when it proved successful, the second installment was accepted into the main bracket. Furthermore, due to its restrictive niche, the Fear Section often had to be padded with

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858-487: The films of André Téchiné ), theatre work, screen-writing (from Les Bronzés to Un petit boulot in 2016) and film direction ( Grosse Fatigue in 1994, Mauvaise Passe filmed in London in 1999, Embrassez qui vous voudrez in 2002 and Voyez comme on danse in 2018). He declined to direct Une petite zone de turbulences in 2009 while nonetheless preparing the screenplay and starring. Blanc began his directing career with

897-605: The group later becoming the Le splendid troupe. Blanc's breakthrough role was in Les Bronzés , a 1978 comedy about French holidaymakers seeking romance at a resort in Cote d'Ivoire. Blanc’s character, Jean-Claude Dusse, an awkward bachelor who just cannot manage to seduce women. Blanc feared, after two Les Bronzés sequels, that he might become typecast as "a lovable deadbeat". Blanc extended his range with serious film roles (such as in

936-408: The heightened commercial expectations such films generated, and strained its relationship with major distributors. Fox executives threatened a boycott when their two odds-on favorites, The Fly and RoboCop were passed for top honors in 1986 and 1987 respectively, with Le Monde conceding that RoboCop probably would have won the Grand Prize, had its heavy advertising campaign not antagonized

975-555: The home country's most watched channels. France Inter set up a studio at the Hotel des Drômonts during the festival, and many national television talk shows were broadcast from the festival. TF1 was a presenting partner, while Antenne 2 sponsored a special award, the Golden Antenna, sometimes in the same year. A 1990 survey found that the festival was known to 93% of the French public, second only to Cannes . In comparison to

1014-488: The jury headed by Sidney Lumet . While Columbia Tri-Star provided the 1992 Festival with its showpiece in The Addams Family , the film left empty handed, and the distributor refused to do the same the following year with the highly anticipated Dracula . As the film was scheduled to open in France right after the festival, Chouchan and Brémond interpreted the decision as a deliberate snub. Further highlighting

1053-574: The more traditional approach of the Paris International Festival of Fantastic and Science-Fiction Film , Avoriaz made a concerted effort to distance itself from the genre's exploitation roots, with Chouchan saying "We couldn't just have the upteenth film with Vincent Price or Christopher Lee [...] There had to be a new fantastique." From the beginning, Brémond had promoted Avoriaz by gifting all-inclusive holidays to popular singers and actors in exchange for publicity shots, and

1092-446: The mountains and then on the coast. This new development area brought it accusations of being a company that "filled up the French coast with cement." By the end of the 70s, the company started to leave the real estate development and refocused itself on tourist services. It introduced a concept called "Nouvelle Propriété" (New Property), which let the tourists actually own properties inside the Pierre & Vacances' vacation villages at

1131-489: The name was changed from "Groupe Pierre & Vacances" to "Groupe Pierre & Vacances Central Parcs". The company operates approximately 51,000 hotels, apartments, houses and similar accommodation (236,000 beds). It is still present in the property development sector through the subsidiaries PV-CP Support Services BV, Pierre & Vacances Investissement XXXXVIII, Pierre & Vacances Investissement XXXXIX and Les Senioriales SA. Groupe Pierre & Vacances Central Parcs

1170-565: The primary outlet for much of the independent genre production also meant that such films carried fewer chances of crossing over to the mainstream. Following the 1993 edition, Brémond pulled the plug on the event. As a more wholesome alternative, he launched the Avoriaz French Film Festival the following year. Industry sources suggested that beyond his disenchantment with fantasy films, Brémond may have been looking to attract more public subsidies and ingratiate himself to

1209-426: The resort's eerie sightlines, which were influenced by organic architecture . Daniel Goldman, the head of Cinema International Corporation in France, was an early adherent to the project and helped procure screening rights to many American films. Savvy promotion and strong corporate backing elevated the event to a level of relevance unheard of for a speciality film gathering, with ample news and talk show coverage on

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1248-434: The second half of the 1980s, Brémond and Chouchan were growing uneasy about fantastic cinema's increasingly graphic nature amidst the gore boom of the time, which put the event at odds with Avoriaz's desired family friendly image and ushered in the first rumors of its demise. In response, the 1986 Festival confined slasher and horror films to a minor, separate competition called the Fear Section (French: Section Peur ). However,

1287-741: The title role in the Patrice Leconte film Monsieur Hire . Michel Blanc came from a modest family background; being the only son of Marcel, a removals man and Jeanine Blanc, a typist. His parents cosseted him when it was discovered shortly after birth that he had a heart murmur. He attended the Lycée Pasteur in Neuilly-sur-Seine , where he met Gérard Jugnot and the two became friends and later professional colleagues. He also met Marie-Anne Chazel, Christian Clavier, Thierry Lhermitte and Josiane Balasko in those school years,

1326-488: The type of low budget horror fare the organizers were keen to avoid in the first place. Today the Fear Section is largely remembered for providing an outlet for some films from the dying days of Italian genre cinema . Most notably, Michele Soavi , one of the country's last internationally recognized genre directors, won his first award in the 1987 Fear Section for Stage Fright . In 1989, the Festival added another award,

1365-492: Was an attempt to do so through the prism of dark comedies like The Borrower , Mutant Action , Army of Darkness and Braindead . Brémond cites the appalled reaction of former prime minister Michel Rocard , whom he had invited to a screening of eventual 1993 Grand Prix winner Braindead , and the failure of that film at the box office, as the final hint that the fantastic genre was not an appropriate vehicle for his real estate ventures anymore. The emergence of home video as

1404-634: Was generally regarded as being of a high quality, the event's overtures towards cinema auteurs sometimes exposed a gap between the films it showcased and the expectations of the cultural establishment it courted. Hollywood actress and Avoriaz juror Leslie Caron expressed outrage at The Texas Chainsaw Massacre , which made its belated appearance at the 1976 festival due to censorship issues, calling it "beastly, vile and dehumanizing". The star-studded jury, which also included Sergei Bondarchuk , Eugène Ionesco , Agnès Varda , Jacques Tati , Iannis Xenakis and president Michaelangelo Antonioni , refused to award

1443-639: Was listed on the Paris stock exchange . In March of that year, it purchased the resort chain Orion from Whitehall et Westmont Hospitality . Then, it entered into a joint venture with Beni Stabili with the aim of purchasing properties in Italy. In April 2000, Pierre & Vacances acquired Grand Dorado (later renamed Center Parcs), one of the leading companies in the Benelux's tourism accommodation market. In March 2001, in

1482-531: Was partly due to the resort's limited capacity. This led to accusations of manufactured elitism from both special and general interest publications, such as the Cahiers du Cinéma and L'Express . Lucio Fulci , an Italian director whose career straddled the line between mainstream and exploitation cinema, said: "[In Paris] the public was really sympathetic, with a sweet smell of weed. [...] Whereas in Avoriaz, it

1521-449: Was very snobbish, many people didn't care about anything." The inaugural Grand Prix , awarded to Steven Spielberg 's Duel in his first award win for a longform feature, did much to establish the festival's credibility when the director rose to international fame in the following years. Spielberg would return in 1977 to serve as jury president, a position he would not accept again until the 2013 Festival de Cannes . While its palmares

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