11,251 moviegoers flocked to the 9th French Film Festival in the Czech Republic, held from November 23 through 27, 2006.
This sets a new record for the event, registering a 37% rise in attendance over last year (8,235 spectators in 2005).
The distribution of audiences between the 4 festival cities was as follows:
- 7,492 spectators in Prague (Kino Svetozor and the French Institute in Prague)
- 1,307 spectators in Hradec Kralové (Kino Central)
- 1,245 spectators in Brno (Kino Art)
- 1,207 spectators in Ceske Budejovice (Kino Kotva)
In addition, 59 journalists received accreditation for the festival (compared to 51 in 2005). A 12-page supplement devoted to the event was published in the METRO newspaper, with 30,000 copies circulated. This year for the first time, the Czech public broadcaster (Ceska Televize) participated in the event by airing a series of French films as well as the festival trailer.
Screenings of 4 of the 5 films premiered at the event were held in Prague to packed houses at the Kino Svetozor theater (with seating for 488). The 5 films presented in premiere screenings were:
- "The Gleaners and I" by Agnès Varda, now released on the screens (by the Association of Czech Cine-clubs)
- "Transylvania" screened in the presence of its director Tony Gatlif, which is slated for release in the Czech Republic on Thursday, November 30, 2006 (distributed by Artcam Praha).
- "The Science of Sleep" by Michel Gondry, also released November 30, 2006 (by the company 35mm).
- "Merry Christmas," slated for release December 7, 2006 (distributed by SPI International)
- "Tell No One," which will be released in the first six months of 2007 (distributed by Bioscop).
The French Film Festival organizers (The French Embassy in the Czech Republic, Unifrance, the Alliance Française in the Czech Republic, the French Institute in Prague, Europa Cinemas, and Euro RSCG) would like to extend their thanks to the event’s major sponsor, the KB, as well as to all other festival partners (TV5 Monde, Radisson SAS, Air France, Renault, JCDecaux, Metro, Reflex, Cinema, Volny, CR1-Radiozurnal, Radio 1, CR3-Vltava, Sopexa, Centrum Foto Skoda, FAMU, Studio Mirage, Becherovka, and Les Cahiers du Cinéma).
