Frances McDormand in “Nomadland” by Chloé Zhao – Searchlight Pictures
- The Oscar-winning films “Nomadland” and “The Father” have already been seen by many French people even though they have not yet been released on our territory.
- Pirates believe they have good reason to view films illegally, even though this practice is seriously damaging the entire film industry.
Not released in theaters and yet already seen. According to the comments recorded following our articles on the Oscars, many of the readers of 20 minutes discovered the award-winning films before they were made available in France. Nomadland by Chloé Zhao and The Father by Florian Zeller have already been seen, apparently very easily, but in the most perfect illegality, regardless of the fact that their attitude robs the artists and distributors of the films.
We interviewed about twenty of these “pirates” and film rights holders to try to understand the issue and the extent of the phenomenon without, of course, giving any clue that could encourage this fraudulent practice.
Piracy stabilized
Bypass the rules in order to see films that one should not be able to see, “it is purely and simply theft, chokes the distributor Jean Labadie. A theft that people assume in a way more and more uninhibited when it would not occur to them the idea of taking grocery products without paying for them! »Uncomplicated, not quite: the boss of the company Le Pacte is the only professional to have agreed to testify with his face uncovered for the investigation of 20 minutes. “Piracy has always existed,” laughs Frédéric, 55 (his first name has been changed, like those of the other witnesses). Since the invention of the cinema, people have taken the queue to enter theaters without paying. It is the peculiarity of the passionate cinephile to try to cheat. “
With the Internet, the phenomenon has taken on worrying proportions, even if, according to a study by Alpa (Association for the fight against audiovisual piracy) published in November 2020, illicit consumption stabilized at 52% (with 10.2 million Internet users concerned) after rising to 73% in 2017. Perhaps because the growth and diversity of legal platforms now offer moviegoers something to quench their thirst for cinema legally.
So why hack?
Among the Internet users we questioned, two types of pirates stand out: those who download big movies such as Wonder Woman 1984 or Godzilla vs Kong and those looking for more confidential works. “I only download series B which are not available in France,” says Jean-Philippe, 37 years old. The Web is a huge film library that allows you to find works that could have disappeared. It is also a way of preserving heritage. “
“I hack because I don’t want to wait. We are talking about Nomadland for months on social media and I didn’t want to be left behind. I would have paid if I had had the opportunity, ”says Virginie, 25, who only downloads recent films. This argument is the main one invoked by the Internet users we interviewed. “I pirate films, then I go back to see them in theaters if I liked them,” says Jérémy, 28 years old. So I don’t feel like I’m stealing from anyone ”. Only blockbusters excite his lust.
“I wouldn’t be pirating if I had the same choice as in the United States where films are released simultaneously in theaters and on platforms,” specifies Franck, 47 years old. Even when the theaters reopen, I prefer that I can choose to watch a movie at home without having people eating popcorn or checking their phones. »But, in France, the current media chronology law does not, for the moment, make this solution possible. To be viable here, the platforms would already have to agree to participate in the financing of films or pay a contribution to the CNC.
Tired, disillusioned, some majors have for their part preferred to sacrifice the theatrical release of their film, so as to pull the rug out from under the pirates’ feet. This is the case of the Warner for Wonder Woman 1984, then Godzilla vs Kong and soon Mortal Kombat, but also from Disney for Drunk and soon Raya and the last dragon. Too bad for the receipts in theaters.
A dramatic situation
But it is the entire cinema industry that will lose, right down to the spectator himself. “It is not only these firms that will suffer from the shortfall, insists Jean Labadie, it is the whole system, especially in France, since part of the price of the cinema ticket is taken to be reinvested in French productions. »Without films, no tickets, and without tickets, no films…
“The money that we let slip away will prevent us from investing and that will be the end of the diversity of cinema”, sighs Jean Labadie again. Already very weakened by the closing of theaters, the French distributor is enraged to see a situation that is deteriorating without some moviegoers being moved in the least.