The Cannes Film Festival Museum will be built by 2030: here are the 3 sites under consideration

Sometimes a single line is enough to make a whole movie. Rightly or wrongly. But also an "omission" to create thrills and suspicion. Thus, when in October 2024 at the Lumière Institute in Lyon, Rachida Dati publicly declared herself in favor of the creation of a Cinema Museum , but did not mention Cannes, there was a stir on the Croisette. Even more so when the Minister of Culture did not deign to speak with the mayor, David Lisnard, on the subject during the last Cannes Film Festival . Nor even attend the press conference confirming the creation of the museum part of the film festival, in the presence of the general delegate, Thierry Frémaux.

The great fear of Cannes city councillors: that the great temple of the 7th art to which they aspire will finally be realized in the capital. As much by Rachida Dati's electoral strategy in view of the 2026 municipal elections in Paris, as by the egocentrism of the "elites". "This prospect is all the more unbearable for us since we have worked hard for 3 years with the teams of the Cinémathèque to develop a project, which has been in the pipeline since 2023" , points out Jean-Michel Arnaud, municipal deputy for culture, his hand placed on a voluminous file.

"Paris already suffers from museum obesity"

In detail, this "global" museum would be located on a plot of approximately 14,000m2, including 5,000m2 dedicated to exhibitions . A nave with sets, projections, and a walkway to appreciate the spectacle from above, would retrace the entire history of the 7th art in two galleries. From the cinematograph of the Lumière brothers in 1895 to New Hollywood, including insights into silent films, science fiction, the star system, film noir, Jean Renoir, the western, animation, Hitchcock, Italian neorealism, Chaplin and Spielberg! It is this traveling through time and genres (over 2,500m2) that is designed with the Cinémathèque Française.

Another space would be entirely dedicated to the history of the Cannes Film Festival, with an original scenography covering 1,000m2. All accompanied by a children's area on learning the cinema professions (500m2), and a studio lab on the development of new technologies. For events, 1,000m2 dedicated to temporary exhibitions from the cinematheque, as well as a large auditorium and a screening room . "This logically has its place in Cannes where we keep cinema alive all year round, while Paris already suffers from museum obesity. The opposite would be all the more absurd since we have already signed a tripartite agreement in 2020 between the City, the Cinémathèque and the festival," recalls Jean-Michel Arnaud.

Frédéric Bonnaud: "We're waiting for land and a budget!"

The land remains to be determined, and the budget, estimated at 200 million euros, to be found. And, for Frédéric Bonnaud, general director of the Cinémathèque, this is where the problem lies. "I have written a project for a Cinema Museum with my teams at the Cinémathèque. The town hall, for its part, is making announcements. But I am still waiting for them to present us with a location and its financing!" And the former director of "Les Inrocks" also deplores the silence of the Ministry of Culture , while "we have been waiting for such a museum for 28 years [since the fire at the Langlois Museum in 1997] , which Bercy does not have the space to accommodate." The "destination" Cannes? "The idea was appealing, and I even attended a conference to announce it a few years ago. But since then, nothing has materialized, so the ball is in their court. It remains astonishing that in France, where we talk about education and transmission, there is no museum for the 7th art."

3 sites considered

To these questions, the City responds that three sites are " considered" : in Picaud on the site of the former Palais des Sports; in La Bocca , closer to the Cineum and the Méliès campus. And a third at the maritime station , but this last option is more limited. Whatever happens, Jean-Michel Arnaud certifies: "The Cannes Film Festival museum will be built here!" . With a call for projects by May 2026, a foundation stone for the 80th FIF in 2027 and an opening in 2029 or 2030. Its 80 million euro financing will fall half to the City and half to private partners, via a foundation and subsidies. It remains to be seen whether it will be the glamorous showcase of a vast flagship, or whether it will take all the space of a museum ambition revised downwards. Like going from the big screen to the small screen...