Soon after we started occupying La Clef, we realized that the only way to ensure it remains an independent community cinema, and continues promoting lesser-seen films and access to culture for all, was to buy it and run it ourselves.
So in october 2021 we created an endowment fund called Cinéma Revival, to collect tax-deductible donations in order to acquire La Clef.
Cinéma Revival’s articles of association stipulate that the buildings it owns must be used for film exhibition — this way, the endowment fund would preserve La Clef’s historic vocation.
When the occupation ended, we initiated talks with the cinema’s owner, a French bank. After a year-long negotiation, we managed to get the price down from 4.2 to 2.35 million euros, and we signed a sales agreement in april 2023 !
In total, we need €2.5M to buy La Clef, including notary fees. As of april 2024, we have secured a €800,000 bank loan and raised €1.4M in donations from the audience, film professionals and patrons.
Therefore, we are only €300,000 away from our goal to save the cinema !
We appealed to the generosity of the public, and with the support of over 5,000 enthusiastic donors, this eccentric idea of collectively buying and running a cinema became a very real possibility.
To help us get there, you can either make a donation (for US donors, we have set up a fiscal sponsorship with Film Independent) or buy one of the artworks that were donated to our collective by artists who support our cause!
