Catherine Deneuve has been associated with some of the most enduring brands to come out of France. She was the face of Chanel No. 5 in the 1970s, was considered the muse of Yves Saint Laurent and was chosen to front the advertising campaign of L'Oréal Paris in 2001. In the 1980s, her image was even used to represent Marianne, the national symbol of the Republic found on coins and stamps throughout France. This month, the celebrated actress once again carries the tricolore for her country as she reopens South Kensington's refurbished Ciné Lumière.
The occasion marks a reunion between two of the best icons that French cinema has to offer. Catherine's legacy to film is unquestioned; her list of Oscar, Bafta and César nominations is a metre long, and in 2008 she won the Special Award at the Cannes Film Festival. On this side of the Channel is Ciné Lumière, a key destination on the map of all London-based Francophiles, which was initially christened by Catherine in 1998.
Located within the grand Grade II listed Art Deco Institut Français, the cinema began its life as a theatre. The Institut was designed by French architect Patrice Bonnet and inaugurated in 1939 by President Albert Lebrun and HRH Princess Mary. The building is striking inside and out, with original features including intricate brickwork, ceramic plaques, parquet floors, glass bricks, wrought iron and soaring stained glass windows.
In the last decade, Ciné Lumière has developed a reputation as one of the best repertory cinemas in the country, featuring a rich mix of French, European and world movies. Annually it shows about 900 screenings of works in their original language with English subtitles, and programming includes first-run releases, gala premieres, exclusive previews, presentations by actors and directors, film festivals and retrospectives.
Because it is independent, the cinema has the scope to showcase unusual and even difficult films alongside classics and modern blockbusters. It's a formula that seems to work; it attracted 35,000 visitors in 2007 alone. Over the years the cinema has hosted a who's who of filmmakers and actors for premieres, Q & A sessions and special screenings. Legendary figures including Jeanne Moreau, Lauren Bacall, Sophie Marceau, Jacques Doillon, Vanessa Redgrave, Roland Barthes, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Jane Birkin, Quentin Blake, Alain de Botton, Julie Delpy, Daniel Auteuil, Hanif Kureishi, Jean Renoir and Mike Leigh have all passed through the Institut's extraordinary glass and iron doors.
Planners didn't opt for a mere face-lift for the cinema, instead springing for a total body overhaul costing £800,000. Roughly 30 per cent of the budget was provided by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the remaining 70 per cent came from individual and corporate donors. The goal of renovations was to enhance the cinema-going experience, reinstate the integrity of the interior and open up to disabled audiences for the first time.
Improvements include the arrival of a new digital projector to sit alongside the existing 35mm and 16mm ones, as well as modifications to the screen to give clear sightlines from all seats. New seating supplies increased comfort, and the introduction of high-acoustic performance doors and window glazing prevents noise intrusion and noise break-out from the auditorium.
Part financed by a grant from the UK Film Council, a new platform lift provides disabled access, there's a new disabled toilet, and the auditorium's new floor plan allows for a choice of seating positions for wheelchair users too. Finally, the stage at the front of the auditorium has been reduced in depth to reveal two previously obscured Art Deco windows, thereby restoring the distinctive symmetrical proportions of the room.
Only a few years older than La Deneuve, the Institut's Queensberry Place building is entering its seventh decade much like Ciné Lumière's patron herself. Both are elegantly beautiful, cosmopolitan and full or talent - no wonder the public can't get enough of either one. l
Les dates de votre agenda...
Janvier
• A critical and commercial hit in France, A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noël, 2008, New Wave) starring Catherine Deneuve is the centrepiece of Ciné Lumière's re-launch celebrations
• An exclusive release of Ciné Lumière, the charming musical comedy Paris 36 (Faubourg 36, 2008, Pathé UK) stars Gérard Jugnot and Nora Arnezeder
• Screenings of The Class (Entre les murs, 2008, Artificial Eye), winner of the 2008 Palme d'Or at Cannes, round out re-opening activities
Février
• On 13 February, veteran French director Claude Lelouch introduces the opening-night screening of an exclusive two week run of Roman de Gare, his deceptively layered new thriller starring Fanny Ardant and Dominique Pinon
• The Sunday French Classics series provides the chance to catch classics on the big screen including Tristana (dir. Luis Buñuel, 1970), L'Amour fou (dir. Jacques Rivette, 1969) Le Carosse d'or (dir. Jean Renoir, 1953), Un homme et une femme (dir. Claude Lelouch, 1966) and La guerre est finie (dir. Alain Resnais, 1966)
Mars
• Actress Bernadette Lafont (Le Beau Serge, La Maman et la putain) opens Nouvelle Vague: 50 Years On, a two week programme of screenings and conferences assessing the legacy of the New Wave
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