La Clef will therefore not open its doors. The collective for the defense of the last associative cinema in Paris, which occupied the hall on rue Daubenton for more than two years, announced on Wednesday that it had signed a purchase agreement and is relaunching a call for funds to raise 600,000 euros, in the hope for a reopening in January 2024.
The collective “La Clef Revival” has concluded an agreement before a notary to buy the premises with an area of 800 m2 for 2.9 million euros, against 4.2 million at the start. The purchase agreement is valid for six months. In the meantime, to complete a guaranteed bank loan, the collective is relaunching an appeal to donors to raise 600,000 euros. A fundraising campaign aimed at the general public, still in progress, has already collected 200,000 euros. Sponsors, including personalities of the seventh art, have already contributed up to 600,000 euros.
“This is the start of the countdown: the endowment fund must collect the entire sum before October 26, 2023, underline the representatives of the collective, to make this neighborhood cinema a common good, which will allow it to be subtracted definitely to speculative pressures. In view of the finalization of the takeover and the reopening, an agreement has been finalized with the National Cinema Center (CNC) to set up a ticket office at free prices, according to the philosophy of the defense collective.
From September 2019 to March 2022, this arthouse cinema located in the Latin Quarter, the last associative hall in Paris, had been occupied by a collective of citizens and film enthusiasts – ultimately expelled – opposed to a real estate operation which would have led to his disappearance. The Caisses d’Épargne works council owns the buildings. Filmmakers and actors Mathieu Amalric, Olivier Assayas, Robin Campillo, Leos Carax, Alain Cavalier, Agnès Jaoui are among the supporters and donors of the “La Clef Revival” collective.
“In recent years, La Clef has been occupied by people devoted to the art of cinema. The owners want to sell it without worrying too much about what will become of this beloved hall at a time when it is increasingly difficult for cinemas to survive. To all the members of La Clef Revival, know that the filmmakers here in the United States, support you”, even declared the American filmmaker Martin Scorsese in a video call for donations made public on Wednesday. The reopening project includes daily screenings, but also image education workshops, an associative café and a screenwriting residency.
