BNP Paribas is once again this year supporting the Grand Lyon Film Festival. The BNP Paribas Group has a very close relationship with the ‘Seventh Art' and is delighted to be the official partner, for the fourth year running, of this international cinema Festival organised by the Lumière Institute, taking place this year from 15 to 21 October.
Presided by actor-writer-director Bertrand Tavernier and directed by Cannes Festival Artistic Director Thierry Frémaux, the Festival showcases some of the great works from the history of moviemaking, introduced and presented by top celebrities from today's film world to the large international audience that flocks each year to Lyon. More than 30 of the city's boroughs are involved and screenings will take place this year on 38 screens in some 33 movie houses, entertainment venues and exhibition halls.
In becoming Official Partner to the Festival for the fourth consecutive year, BNP Paribas is hoping to share its passion for cinema with the residents of the Lyon region.
This year we will be bringing the Grand Lyon Film Festival to life in our Lyon Grenette branch – setting up a temporary local studio there for Séance Radio, BNP Paribas' very own 24/7 webradio covering all things film (www.seanceradio.com/@seanceradio). People who drop in at the branch will be able to witness the recording of special Festival webradio broadcasts and also enter a draw for tickets to the various Festival events and screenings.
BNP Paribas is also helping to promote the newly-restored version of The Scarecrow, a movie directed by Jerry Schatzberg which won the Palme d'or award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973. The film will be screened on the opening night on 15 October at the Tony Garnier Hall in front of an audience of 5,000.
On Wednesday 17 October, at the same time as Steven Spielberg's film E.T. The Extra Terrestrial is showing at the Tony Garnier Hall, there will also be a special screening of the film for children who are patients at the l'Hôpital-Femme-Mère-Enfant (mother-and-child hospital) at Bron, arranged by Toiles enchantées (‘Enchanted Screen'), a children's charity which BNP Paribas supports.
Our partnership with the Grand Lyon Film Festival is part of BNP Paribas' 20-year-long support for cinema and film-making. The Bank is one of France's leading supporters of this art form. In 2011 alone, the Group helped to finance, through our own Audiovisual Agency, over a hundred French-made films – i.e. half of all movies produced in the country in one year. BNP Paribas is also today the major source of support to the campaigns run by the French national cinema federation to encourage cinema-going among the public. Every year, the Group distributes a million cinema tickets at greatly-reduced prices as part of the Printemps du Cinéma (Springtime at the Movies), La Fête du Cinéma (Cinema Festival) and the Rentrée Cinéma BNP Paribas (a BNP Paribas - sponsored autumn movie-going campaign).
For more info about the Grand Lyon Film Festival 2012 go to: www.lumiere2012.org
Other BNP Paribas initiatives to promote cinema-going and film-making
BNP Paribas, major contributor to the financing of audiovisual production
For over 20 years, BNP Paribas has been helping to finance the shooting of new work via our own Audiovisual Agency, staffed by professionals who are entirely devoted to cinematographic and audiovisual activities. The Group also holds a stake in the Cofiloisirs arts-financing house. The Group's engagement with film was further boosted by the recent merger with Belgian-based Fortis, which was already deeply involved with the world of cinema. Last year alone, BNP Paribas helped to finance over a hundred French-made films – i.e. half of all movies produced in the country in one year.
BNP Paribas, exclusive partner of national campaigns to promote cinema-going
In 2004, BNP Paribas forged a partnership with the Fédération Nationale des Cinémas Français (French National Cinema Federation) to create the post-summer-vacation movie-going drive entitled La Rentrée du Cinéma.
In 2007, BNP Paribas became the exclusive partner of all the major promotional events taking place at movie-houses across France: the Printemps du Cinéma (Springtime at the Movies), La Fête du Cinéma (Cinema Festival) and the Rentrée du Cinéma.
In 2011, BNP Paribas launched, with the backing of the FNCF, an autumn cinema-going drive entitled the Rentrée Cinéma BNP Paribas.
BNP Paribas is today the major source of support to the campaigns run by the French National Cinema Federation to encourage cinema-going among the public. The Group is delighted to be able to encourage as many people as possible to get away and enjoy an evening or afternoon at the movies by distributing a million cinema tickets at greatly-reduced prices each year.
BNP Paribas, partnering film in all its dimensions
Since 2005, BNP Paribas has been one of the major partners to Luc Besson's animated films - Arthur and the Invisibles and Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard.
In 2010, the Group agreed to partner the Le Trianon cinema and entertainment venue in Paris. This partnership has enabled the Trianon both to continue to play a unique role in young people's education and also to remain a bastion of animated filmmaking and film culture for its many devotees.
In the field of short films, BNP Paribas partners the Mobile Film Festival, which seeks to highlight the work of directors who produce a one-minute film using a mobile device, and is also associated with Banlieuz'art, (“Art in the neighbourhood”), a competition for short films created by young people in the Paris region.
BNP Paribas also supports Les Toiles Enchantées (The Enchanted Screen) a charity body whose president is French actor-director Alain Chabat, which works to enable hospitalised children to enjoy entertainment and culture by arranging screenings of current-release movies free of charge.
In addition, the Group provides backing to the Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight, the Télérama cinema festival, the Grand Lyon Film Festival and the César Academy Awards. BNP Paribas moreover supports the restoration of old film footage. Meanwhile Belgian subsidiary Fortis organises the annual BNP Paribas Fortis Film Days, an event which runs in 450 Belgian movie-houses, and our Italian subsidiary BNL is the main partner of the Rome International Film Festival.
In 2012, BNP Paribas launched Séance Radio, a webradio with iPhone/Android/Facebook app providing comprehensive cover of cinema in all its dimensions. Séance Radio provides movie fans with a 24/7 service covering the treasures of the cinema world. It offers reportage on movie matters and music from the original soundtracks of films. Find out more at: www.seanceradio.com, @seanceradio.
The Group recently agreed to provide backing to the Ecole de la Cité, Cinéma et Télévision, a not-for-profit body set up by film director Luc Besson for the purpose of training the cinema and TV professionals of tomorrow. This decision – the latest proof of BNP Paribas' firm commitment to film and film-making – is also in line with the Group's Corporate Philanthropy policy, which sets Education as one of its key priorities.
For more info on the Group's work with cinema: www.bnpparibas.com/cinema
About BNP Paribas' Retail Banking division in France (FRB)
The BNP Paribas Retail Banking division in France employs 31,900 staff, serving 6.8 million individual or Private Banking customers, 615,000 self-employed professional clients and small business-owners, plus 77,700 corporate and institutional clients. The FRB division offers a broad range of products and services, from current account operations to more complex arrangements for financing businesses or managing personal wealth. Our Retail Banking branch network in France not only boasts a very large clientele for individual banking services but also enjoys a strong market position among company clients. FRB knows that a local presence, with branches situated close to its customers, is an essential feature of high-quality service; our branch-renovation programme is now 70% complete and we are also opening a series of new-generation branches. The FRB network consists of 2,250 branches and 5,850 ATMs, plus an innovative Online Banking system comprising Contact Centres, Internet and Mobile access, and the online branches and services Net Agence, Net Epargne and Net Crédit, backed by a strong presence on the social networks Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.
About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) has a presence in 80 countries and nearly 200,000 employees, including more than 150,000 in Europe. It ranks highly in its three core activities: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail banking model across Mediterranean basin countries, in Turkey and Eastern Europe, and boasts a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Investment Banking and Investment Solutions activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia