01.
Already two years since the eviction
After occupying the cinéma for two and a half years, the collective (La Clef Revival) was evicted on March 1st, 2022, at the end of a long legal procedure with the building’s owner.
On the same day, the SOS Group, a giant in the so-called social and solidarity economy, which was planning to buy the place in order to implement a lucrative project, withdrew its offer to buy it.
After two years of media battle, this is a victory for the collective, which now has a clear path to buy the cinema !
Two years full of twists and turns
The collective decided to continue its fight to save the last community cinema in Paris and to perpetuate a collective organisation and programming, a space for the free distribution of rare films and an independent creative space open to all.
End of April 2022, the collective met for the first time with the owner of the building, the CSE of the Caisse d’Épargne Île-de-France. They announced their price, the one that the Group SOS had offererd was 4.2 million euros.
At that time, the endowment fund had collected nearly €200,000, thanks to 2,400 donors… more than 4 million extra were needed!
For six months, we sharpened our project to take over La Clef in collaboration with the CNC, which confirmed the possibility of combining commercial ticketing and pay as you wish, as well as dozens of cinema professionals – producers, cinema operators, filmmakers. We are also supported by specialists in property ownership in order to define the legal framework that will allow us to definitively remove this local cinema from speculative pressures.
The collective also continues to consolidate its links with the film industry: many filmmakers such as Mathieu Amalric, Leos Carax and Agnès Jaoui, who already came to present films during the occupation, reaffirmed their support by contributing to the endowment fund. The collective even sent a filmed letter to Martin Scorsese – who replied last March to show his support.
02.
April 2023: A sales agreement is signed
At the beginning of 2023, the collective and the owner agreed on a price: 2.9 million euros.
On April 26th, the Cinéma Revival Endowment Fund, created in 2020 by the collective to structure the purchase of La Clef and take the building off the real estate market, signed a six-month sales agreement with the CSE. It has been extended at the last minute for five extra months.
The countdown continues: the fund must raise the entire amount before the end of March 2024!
03.
The final stretch!
In addition to the donations and pledges collected over the past two years, we have also received a bank loan: to date, we already have reached 80% of our objective. We still have to raise €800,000.
Today, the collective is maintaining its crowdfunding campaign and continues to actively seek patrons. Any donation is tax-deductible up to 66% for individuals and 60% for businesses in France. These contributions are disinterested: patrons and donors will have no decision-making power over the upcoming project, ensuring the independence of the user association.
Download the press release (PDF)
04.
We are almost there
We can all manage to buy this mythical cinema and make it a common property, an open house for the cinema.
To contribute, please go to cinemarevival.fr (mostly in french)
Bravo and THANK YOU to all those who have already contributed.