Lumière Celebrates Classics as Well as Contemporary Fare

variety.com:

Christopher Vourlias The 14th edition of the Lumière Film Festival, a week-long celebration of classic films that’s one of the world’s leading heritage cinema events, will take place Oct.

15-23 in the host city of Lyon, birthplace of the brothers and filmmaking pioneers who lend the festival its name. The event, which is headed by Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux, includes a wide-ranging lineup of tributes, retrospectives and movie screenings, including newly restored classics and works that have never been shown before, alongside a program of discussions and masterclasses.

Running parallel to the festival is the influential Intl. Classic Film Market (MIFC), which brings together distributors, exhibitors, streaming platforms, broadcasters, restoration experts and other industry professionals involved in the business of heritage cinema.

Maelle Arnaud, head programmer at the Lumière Institute, which organizes the festival as part of its year-round work in the promotion and preservation of French cinema, says it’s the event’s place at the crossroads of culture and commerce that has made it one of the key fests on the industry calendar each fall. “I think the festival, more than other festivals dedicated to classic movies, has a big [focus] on the market and … [encourages] all the professionals working in classic movies to use the festival for their business,” she says.