2012 Procirep Procirep
The Procirep, a structure uniting more than five hundred production companies and rights holders in France as well as all the French professional film and television producers' organisations has historically been a partner of the États généraux du film documentaire. In the framework of its action to support film and promote the general interest of the production community, the Procirep is happy to be associated with this new edition, allowing the discovery and debate of a selection of the year's documentaries, which will interest and no doubt mobilise the various participants who will attend this États généraux over its seven day length at Lussas. This event centred on the creation of documentary has proven itself an essential moment of action, reflection and the development of thought on the specific problems of the genre.
The perpetual redefinition of documentary form and the need to give value to those who are demanding in their approach is of growing importance in a context marked by the rapid evolution of audiovisual production, illustrated by the spectators' new practices of consumption. Unfamiliar modes of access stimulate new styles of filmmaking and new forms which ceaselessly progress and spread.
We producers do not believe in the death of television. We think that television must be reinvented. We think in particular that public service television has an essential mission that is a keystone of the democratic system. And in this system, documentary must hold and affirm its place, as a means of expression, as a support for education, as a medium for sharing knowledge and stimulating a critical mind.
These themes that highlight the necessity of criticism are at the heart of the debates and meetings of this 2012 edition. Let us hope that the fruit of this work will nourish and make even more rigorous documentary efforts to come.
The Procirep wishes the greatest success for all the participants of the 2012 États généraux du film documentaire.
Dominique Barneaud
Chairman of the Procirep Television Commission