FiSpo Update: A Paris Theater Reborn
Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program opens the door to nonprofit funding for independent filmmakers and media artists, in addition to organizations that support and celebrate independent film. That sponsorship can have a huge impact on the many films and film related projects, whether that’s getting them out the gate, or getting them over the finish line. FiSpo Updates, highlighting recent achievements of projects that are part of the program.
This month we have a special update from one of the great cinema cites, Paris, where Fiscal Sponsorship from some Hollywood heavyweights helped save a beloved cinéma.
La Clef Cinema was in trouble. The historic theater in the 5th Arrondissement had been fighting eviction since 2018. The theater was so beloved, that a collection of moviegoers and artists took direct action and on September 20, 2019 they occupied the cinema, and collectively didn’t leave. And while they were there, they didn’t just sit on their hands. The collective hosted screenings and talks with filmmakers like Fredrick Wiseman and Leos Carax. They were fined, sued, and through the legal battle won support of the public, as well as a few court cases.
That all came to an end on March 1st, 2022. The police came to evict the collective and the cinema was put up for sale. Through a Film Independent Fiscal Sponsorship, the La Clef collective raised $400,000 from over 5000 donors, including filmmakers like David Lynch and Celine Sciamma. Other donations then rolled in from Quentin Tarantino and others. With fiscal sponsorship and other fundraising like an art exhibit and loans from cooperative unions, they were able to buy the theater in June of this year.
We’ll let the La Clef collective take it from here as they give their project update below.
La Clef Cinema
Project Type: Theater Nonprofit
Project Status: Reopened & Renovating
Project Update: In June, we spent ten intense days refurbishing the whole building and organizing a lightening reopening festival to celebrate the purchase and thank the many supporters who made it possible. We held 30 screenings over four days, and have since we’ve closed down again for renovation. We need to bring the electrical networks up to code, remove asbestos from the building, and renovate the common areas to make them accessible – all of this construction work should take a year to complete, and is quite expensive.
We need to find $400,000 before April 2025 to fund the renovation work and to finally welcome the public back to La Clef! We are looking for dedicated patrons who share our conviction that the collective experience of movie-going needs community theaters like ours, and want to support our grassroots initiative.
Action item: The team at La Clef still needs funds to finish their renovations. Go to their page to donate today!
Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program opens the door to nonprofit funding for independent filmmakers and media artists. The projects and makers participating in the program express a uniqueness of vision, celebrate diversity and advance the craft of filmmaking through the creation of these special works. To see the full range of projects that are part of our program, visit our Sponsored Projects page.
To learn how Fiscal Sponsorship works, check out the below video or watch our full discussion with Film Independent’s Artist Development team way down at the bottom of this article.
If you’re already part of our Fiscal Sponsorship program and you have a production milestone you’d like to see in the next post, please email us.
For over 40 years, Film Independent has helped filmmakers get their projects made and seen. The nonprofit organization’s core mission is to champion creative independence in visual storytelling and support a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision.
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