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PROFESSION: PRODUCER
Series of Portraits of Producers


PRÉSENTATION

What is a producer? Behind Epinal's image of an all-powerful man who frequents the stars and juggles with millions .... who are these men and women who make films possible ?
In theory, this profession consists of uniting the intellectual elements, artists, financiers and administrators necessary for producing a film or television program, whatever be the genre.   But in reality, what are the encounters, coincidences, talents and moments of stress that will give birth to a work ?  For viewers this series uncovers the world behind the scenes of creation.

No film without a producer. Necessarily starting from his own idea or a project with which he has been entrusted, the producer is the key person in the process in which various professionals will intervene: writers, artists, technicians, but also those who are recognized only by their grandmothers when they appear in the credits: administrators and managers. 

How does one become a film producer?
It requires both artistic and financial skills.  The producer also needs flair and persistence to attract interesting projects and to build an address-book full of contacts, as well as strong talents of persuasion to convince investors, and, of course, a little luck. 
The producer is the initiator of a project, and whether the project is personal or belongs to the writer, it is the producer who proposes it to the financial partners, and the producer is responsible for both the business aspects as well as the choice of the artistic and technical teams.  The producer manages the budget that he is allocated and is the guarantor of getting the project accomplished.  Sometimes a very heavy responsibility.  So, how does one bear it on a daily basis?

It should be noted  that the function of producer, as the initiator and bearer of responsibility of an audio-visual work, was not recognized in France until 1985 (Law of 3 July 1985, Article 13: the producer of an audio-visual work is the person who takes the initiative of the responsibility for the work).  Why so late ?  Surely, because it is the public that creates the stars. 
Our goal is to show that a producer is not just the "tough guy with a cigar" of Hollywood mythology but is also a man or a woman with passion, who "carries" a work, sometimes risking health or  finances, and whose success is often well-deserved. 

Once the project is chosen, the producer will be confronted with a long period of development and obtaining financing, which will lead him to encounter and assemble various professional profiles : writers, directors, network chiefs, bankers, actors, foreign producers.  He needs to convince all of them of the artistic, financial, and commercial validity of the project. 
The goal: to get their agreement, in order to obtain the financing necessary for the making of the film.  This period of development can last several months, even years. 

After the financing has been obtained (how many projects have sunk for every one that got financed?), then the actual production begins.  We will explain  the long period of preparation for filming, the filming phase itself, and then the editing and all the tasks that are called "post-production".  How many months of work still remain before the delivery of the film to the principal buyers ?

Finally, the final stages during which the producer must still and always show his tenacity:  domestic release and promotion and then selling the film overseas.

Who are the French producers? Do they really have, like their Hollywood equals, total power over writers and directors. Surrounded by heartless financiers and lawyers, do they create stars ?  What are their motives, their personal and professional journeys?  Are they fulfilling a childhood dream or was it just happenstance that put them in these positions?
These are just some of the questions that we ask these powers behind-the-scenes.


THE FILMS : "PROFESSION : PRODUCER"

Producteur To reveal these different personalities, we opted to create a series of 26-minute portraits.  Naturally, we intersperse interviews with excerpts from films .... and we go on the set with them (shots from filming or from archives) just as if they would go to the office. 

Each French producer takes us into his world. Some of these producers work basically in France,  others will take us to the Five Continents.

Beyond revealing a misunderstood profession, these portraits allow us to understand the various ways to conceive and practice film production, to find in each work the mark of the producer.   From one producer to the next, from one method to another, it is a new perspective of the cinematic universe that we propose to explore. 

LIST OF PORTRAITS


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