flmswelike 0A DONOST1A ZINEMALDIA FESTIVAL DE SAN SEBASTIAN ,• .uff ,,,nto NrEmmottAt FILM FESMAL , 41 1;q • F- A FILM BY ALEXANDER SOKUROV NI AN LEGY FOR EUROPE flmswelike 20152015 VENICE FILMFILM FESTIVAL OffcialOfficial Competition IDEALEIDEALE AUDIENCE,AUDIENCE, ZERO ONE FILMFILM,, N279N279 ENTERTAINMENT presentpresent MANEinin co-production with ARTE FRANCE CINEMA and LE MUSEENIA DU LOUVRE aA FILMfilm BYby ALExANDERALEXANDER SOkUROVSOKUROV with Louis-Do DE LENCqUESAINgLENCQUESAING,, Benjamin UTZERAThUTZERATH,, Vincent NEMEThNEMETH,, JJohannaohanna kORThALSKORTHALS ALTES WORLD SALES AND FESTIVALS INTERNATIONALINTERNATIONAL PRESSPRESS FILMSFILMS BOUTIqUEBOUTIQUE RIChARDRICHARD LORMAND -- FILM|PRESS|PLUSFILMIPRESSIPLUS KöpenickerKopenicker Strasse 184 - berlin,Berlin, Germany tel.tel. +33-9-7044-9865+33-9-7044-9865 Tel : +49-30-695-378-50+49-30-695-378-50 iNIN VENiCE:VENICE: +39-347-256-4143+39-347-256-4143 www.flmsboutique.comwwwfilmsboutique.com www.FilmPressPlus.comwww.FlimPressPlus.com [email protected]@fihnsboutique.com [email protected]@aol.com 2015 -- FranceFrance/Germany/Netherlands/Germany/Netherlands -- 87 minsmins -- inin FrenchFrench,, Russian andand GermanGerman 02 - FRANCOFONIA SyNOPSISSYNOPSIS FRANCOFONIA isis thethe story of two remarkableremarkable men, Louvrelouvre director Jacques Jaujard and Nazi Occupation offcerofficer Count Franziskus Wolff-Metternich - enemies then collaboratorscollaborators -- whosewhose alliancealliance wouldwould bebe thethe drivingdriving force behind thethe preservation of museum treasures. FRANCOFONIAfRaNCOfONia explores the relationship between artart and power, the Louvre museum as a living example ofof civilization,civilization, and whatwhat artart tellstells usus aboutabout ourselvesourselves eveneven inin the midst of oneone of thethe bloodiest conflictsconflicts the worldworld has ever seen.seen. From the master directordirector ofof FAUSTFAUST (Venice(Venice Golden Lion), RUSSIAN ARK, MOLOCHMOLOCH and MOTHER AND SON. ThroughoutThroughout his vast filmographyflmography —– documentary, fictionfction and others somewhere in between —– Alexander Sokurov has demonstrated that a museum is much more than a place to preserve art. Museums are the veritable DNADNA ofof a civilization,civilization, thethe living organ of the city where the heart of a nation beats. Sokurov'sSokurov’s approach to a museum is nothing less than sacred. With FRANCOFONIA,FRANCOFONIA, hehe exploresexplores aa historicalhistorical chapterchapter thatthat we might know, but whose description does not take into account all the lines that run through it. Against the backdrop ofof thethe Louvre Museum’sMuseum's historyhistory andand artworks,artworks, SokurovSokurov appliesapplies hishis uniqueunique personalpersonal visionvision ontoonto staged re-enactments and archives for a fascinating portrait of real-lifereal-life characters Jacques Jaujard andand Count Franziskus Wolff-Metternich and theirtheir compulsorycompulsory collaborationcollaboration atat thethe LouvreLouvre MuseumMuseum underunder thethe NaziNazi Occupation. FRANCOFONIAFRANCOHNIA - 0303 04 - FRANCOFONIA ThETHE LOUVRELOuVRE UNDERuNDER NAZI OCCUPATIONOccuPATION ThTHEE GOALSgOALS OF STATESTATE AND ARTART SELDOmSELDOM cOINCOINCIDEcIDE InIn view ofof thethe threatthreat ofof warwar triggeredtriggered by Germany’sGermany's invasioninvasion ofof thethe Sudetenland,Sudetenland, thethe Louvre’sLouvre's artart collectionscollections werewere packedpacked up on September 27 and 28, 1938 on the orders of itsits director, Jacques Jaujard, and transportedtransported byby lorrylorry toto thethe ChâteauChâteau de Chambord in the Loire Valley, according to a plan thatthat had been drawndrawn upup longlong beforebefore byby France’sFrance's National MuseumsMuseums Department.Department. DaysDays later,later, after the signing of the Munich agreement, the evacuation was halted and the works were returnedreturned to Paris that October. InIn earlyearly SeptemberSeptember 1939,1939, JaujardJaujard repeatedrepeated thethe procedure:procedure: the works of artart belonging to the Louvre and other ParisParis museums were removed from Paris under the responsibility of the National museumsMuseums Department in order toto protect them fromfrom possiblepossible bombing (and(and not principally due to the danger of a possible invasion or occupation).occupation). Although the Château de Chambord was the principal storage facility, other châteaux, especially thosethose inin thethe LoireLoire Valley,Valley, werewere requisitionedrequisitioned with the consentconsent ofof theirtheir ownersowners toto househouse thethe collections.collections. The curatorscurators tooktook onon responsibilityresponsibility forfor managingmanaging the storage facilities. Concurrently, protective measures were taken in the Louvrelouvre itself, directed by Jaujard: the sculptures were protected with sandbags, frefire protection was installed, the windows were camouflaged, etc. Those paintingspaintings and sculpturessculptures thatthat had not been evacuated were stored in the museum basement. The frames ofof thethe removedremoved paintingspaintings werewere leftleft inin place.place. InIn springspring 19401940 inin Germany,Germany, the Curator of the Rhineland, FranziskusFranziskus Wolff-Metternich, was appointed toto taketake chargecharge of protecting worksworks of art. There were many good arguments in favor ofof settingsetting up a Department forfor thethe ProtectionProtection ofof Artworks, such as the experience of the First World War, during which priceless cultural artifacts were lostlost forever, andand also the interest in the many German art treasures that had been in fFrancerance sincesince thethe NapoleonicNapoleonic wars.wars. On SeptemberSeptember 29,29, 1940,1940, thethe LouvreLouvre was partiallypartially reopened. TheThe opening ceremony was attended by Jaujard and MetternichMetternich (who made a speech), Field Marshal von Rundstedt, Hermann Bunjes, Ambassador OttoOtto Abetz, andand others.others. FromFrom October 1940, some sculpture galleries were openopen to the public for a few daysdays a week. A sales deskdesk forfor postcardspostcards was also opened.opened. HermannHermann BunjesBunjes wrote a German-languageGerman-language guide, and guided tours were organized for German offcersofficers and soldiers. FRANCOFONIAFRANCOHNIA - 0505 The protectorsprotectors of works of art were faced withwith a dilemma. They had to cooperate with the Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce, which was authorized by a July 1940 order ofof thethe FührerFlihrer toto confscateconfiscate all culturalcultural artefactsartefacts ofof obviousobvious valuevalue that werewere thethe "ownerless“ownerless goods of Jews”.Jews". AsAs there were no particularparticular regulations apart from the Hague Convention and thethe Franco-GermanFranco-German armisticearmistice pact, Wolff-Metternich tried to impose an interpretation of the orders compliant with international law. The German archives concerning the theft of artworksartworks in France testifytestify toto the bizarrebizarre spectaclespectacle that took place during those months of war: Metternich, who stood his ground, attracted the hostilityhostility ofof thethe German Ambassador, and then of Alfred Rosenberg, and of ReichsmarschallReichsmarschall Göring.Goring. Tensions betweenbetween Wolff-MetternichWolff-Metternich and the other Occupation organisations, as well as with his superiors in Berlin, intensifed.intensified. In 1942, he was fnallyfinally sentsent away fromfrom Paris, butbut continued toto oversee thethe workwork ofof hishis staffstaff fromfrom Bonn.Bonn. Jaujard spent the whole war in Paris,Paris, andand in his old Renault car, in which he travelled from château to château to inspectinspect thethe collectionscollections that had been evacuated.evacuated. When thethe fghtingfighting movedmoved closercloser toto Paris,Paris, JaujardJaujard organisedorganised aa systemsystem ofof protection and defence in the Louvre involving all the available staffstaff andand curators. The frstfirst skirmishesskirmishes eruptederupted inin ParisParis on August 19, 1944. The main danger for the Louvre was its proximity to the Hotel Meurice, thethe GermanGerman HQ. Although fghtingfighting for the liberationliberation of Paris raged all around the Louvre, itit suffered no signifcantsignificant damage.damage. On AugustAugust 25,25, 1944,1944, thethe armored column commanded by General Leclercleclerc entered the city. The battle in the Tuileries ended atat about 4pm withwith the surrender of the German forces. FromFrom OctoberOctober 1944, the collections were progressively returned and the Louvre was partly reopened. A Commission for the returnreturn of the works waswas set up, headed by Jaujard, whose task itit was to search out and recover thethe worksworks ofof art stolen by the Germans. The Louvre fully reopened its doors in July 1945. Its collections emerged from the war practically unscathed, which was not the case of those previously owned by the Jewish victims ofof thethe Petain regime and the occupying forces. 0600 - - FRANCONNIA FRANCOFONIA -mow- - "4110 WO' FRANCOFONIA - 07 --"••••••••••;;-..._ m — 08 - FRANCOFONIAFRANCONNIA - 11•2:c •-• cOmmENTSCOMMENTS FROMFROm ALEXANDERALEXANDER SOKUROVSOKuROV ThETHE ARKS What would ParisParis bebe without the Louvre, or Russia without the Hermitage, those indelible national landmarks? Let’sLet's imagineimagine an ark on thethe ocean, withwith people andand great worksworks ofof artart aboardaboard