The director of the French Institute of Cameroon (Ifc), Yves Olliver discusses the contours of digital cinema which will be inaugurated on 28 and 29 March, 2015 in Yaoundé and Douala.
Q: In a few weeks, the French Institute of Yaoundé (Ifc) will migrate to digital cinema. What are the contours of this project?
A: Cinema is the movie, it is a technique, and although the film is known in Cameroon it encounters difficulties. There has not been a longer room for a long time. Where we used to come to the movies in a room together rather than in a dining room in front of is elevision screen, is lost.
So we have to regain the public, by programming the films that people want to see. But it is mainly to program in technical conditions for best quality with international standards. The evolution of cinema in the world, it is primarily the passage of 35 mm which was the usual standard for digital cinema. That is to say, we come with modern methods, new technologies to quality projection and disseminating best quality sound.
This requires probably the most modern sophisticated equipment. Since these migrations are observed in all countries of the world. The real question is whether this production is possible in the paths of development countries. It turns out that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Centre of French cinema, decided to make a financial effort to equip a certain number of rooms in the French institutes in Africa. Including Abidjan, Dakar, Ouagadougou, Yaounde, Douala and others.
Q: Are movie theaters that you want to encourage with this migration interest Cameroon?
A: Cameroonians have been accustomed to rooms long ago. There was a period during colonization where there were very popular theaters. They met people, huge and very diverse crowds. All of a sudden it stopped for reasons of economic equilibrium. But it is a loss to the public. Similarly, it is also a loss for the Cameroonian and African cinema that has no possibility of broadcasting. So we are in a reconquest.
The reconquest is going through programs, what do we offer to the public, allowing positively compete soap operas seen on television, series, Brazil, Argentina, Nigeria etc. Therefore propose another other in high quality broadcasting conditions. This is not because we are in Africa we must be content with the poor conditions of projections. Modern technology allows us to do things well.
Q: Speaking of components of the new programming, have there been planned collaborations with Cameroonian filmmakers?
A: We are at the beginning of the project. We will have working sessions with the approach of the inauguration; we will show films in Yaoundé and Douala. Friend of the world cinema diversity we will broadcast with a focus on African cinema. We will continue to promote African and Francophone cinema. But this does not prevent us from doing an Indian film festival, American Italian etc.
