Studiocanal has signed a deal with Metropolitan Filmexport for worldwide rights to the entire film catalog of acclaimed French director Claude Lelouch.
The deal, announced at the Cannes Film Market on Saturday, includes more than 40 films, among them such French classics as A Man and a Woman (1966) — winner of the 1966 Palme d’Or, as well as two Oscars, for best international film and best original screenplay — Live for Life (1967), Love Is a Funny Thing (1969), The Crook (1970), Money Money Money (1972), Happy New Year (1973), Bolero (1981), Itinerary of a Spoilt Child (1988) and Les Misérables (1995).
Studiocanal has been handling French TV rights for the Lelouch catalog for the past seven years. The new deal will give the group exclusive worldwide distribution rights to the director’s vast catalog, as well as SVOD, free-on-demand and AVOD rights in France. Metropolitan will continue to distribute Lelouch’s films in theaters, on video and through transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) in France.
“It gives Studiocanal immense pride to count one of the greatest French directors within its catalog,” said Juliette Hochart, Studiocanal executive vp of Library. “His prolific, internationally recognized work undoubtedly makes him one of the most important filmmakers of our time, as shown by his prestigious awards. We would like to thank Metropolitan Filmexport for placing their trust in Studiocanal to manage this esteemed collection.”
Lelouch thanked Studiocanal, saying he was “proud” that the company would be “distributing my wonderful love story with cinema throughout the world. I’ve tried, through all my films, to set the public dreaming.”
Leloch started his career as a reporter before shifting to film, founding his own production company, Les Films 13, in 1960. Over the years, he has worked with a who’s who of the French film industry, including Jean-Paul Belmondo, Anouk Aimée, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Elsa Zylberstein, Jean Dujardin, Sandrine Bonnaire, Nicole Garcia, Jacques Brel and Géraldine Chaplin.
Studiocanal, a subsidiary of Vivendi-controlled Canal+, has invested heavily in building and maintaining its vast film catalog, which comprises more than 8,000 titles from more than 60 countries, spanning a century of film history. Over the past five years, the studio has invested $21.6 million (€20 million) to restore some 750 classic films, averaging around 120 restored titles a year.
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