French Cinemas Face 400-Film Backlog In Preparation To Reopen

France’s love with cinema threatens to be an overwhelming experience next week, when theatres finally reopen — the scheduling challenge of a massive backlog of 400 films.

On the outskirts of Paris, cinema owner Stephane Goudet is poring over the long list of options, trying to figure out how to give as many films as possible their shot at succeed.

Some had just been released and were scoring well when the second lockdown in October stopped them in their tracks.

Among them were French film “DNA”, by award-winning director Maiwenn. And also doing well when the curtains fell was Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round”, starring Mads Mikkelsen, which picked up this year’s foreign film Oscar.

No less than 45 films are slated for release when cinemas reopen on May 19 after six months of pandemic-induced closure — two to three times the usual number.

The authorities have encouraged cinemas to play multiple films in each screening room, so Goudet crams in 18 movies across his six screens for the opening week.