(English translation of the Open Letter posted yesterday)

Dear Inrocks,

We are the editors of Cahiers du cinéma.

When Le Monde decided to sell les Cahiers, we took the opportunity to develop a project with the editor-in-chief for the purchase of the magazine. That project, born of the desire and the need for critical thinking about cinema, has convinced financial partners, our main shareholder being Thierry Wilhelm - press and internet editor - along with, among others, Paul Otchakovsky-Laurens, a publisher who has always been close to the magazine.

Our project is also that of a huge number of old members of Les Cahiers, like Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Jean Narboni, André S. Labarthe, Jean-Louis Comolli, Louis Skorecki, Luc Moullet…, and longtime companions like Jacques Rancière and Jean Louis Schefer. They, more than twenty-five in total, have indicated their commitment by signing a letter we published in Libération.

This project was initiated several months ago. It has constructed itself in plain view of everyone, and its aims are now well-known: renewing the Cahiers in depth by developing a new complementarity between the magazine and the internet; ensuring the sustainability of the structure in all its activities; guaranteeing continued employment for the salaried staff.

All of this you know. Or rather, no, you pretend not to know it when you maintain your proposal to take over an inside project, announcing among other things further layoffs.

Is it possible that these Inrocks are the same news magazine that displays a leftwing sensibility? Is it possible that you wish to take over a magazine, at this historical moment, that has the will and means to ensure its own future?

We don't believe it. There must be a mistake.

Therefore, do not delay in letting people know it's not true: Les Inrocks don't want to buy Les Cahiers. They are too attached to the plurality of the press and to lively critic debate for that.

Sincerely,
Pierre Alferi, Hervé Aubron, Christophe Beney, Nicole Brenez, Jean Douchet, Laurence Giavarini, Charlotte Garson, Gilles Grand, Bill Krohn, Ludovic Lamant, Elisabeth Lequeret, Arnaud Macé, Philippe Mangeot, Thierry Méranger, Cyril Neyrat, Eugenio Renzi, Antoine Thirion, Axel Zeppenfeld.


LETTRE OUVERTE AUX INROCKUPTIBLES‏

Chers Inrocks,

Nous sommes la rédaction des Cahiers du cinéma. Nous avons voulu saisir l'occasion de la mise en vente du titre par Le Monde pour développer un projet de reprise avec la rédaction en chef. Ce projet, né d'une envie et d'une nécessité critiques, a su convaincre des partenaires financiers : notre actionnaire majoritaire est Thierry Wilhelm – entrepreneur presse et Internet –, aux côtés duquel on compte, entre autres, Paul Otchakovsky-Laurens, éditeur historiquement proche de la revue.

Ce projet est aussi celui d'un grand nombre d'anciens des Cahiers, parmi lesquels Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Jean Narboni, André S. Labarthe, Jean-Louis Comolli, Louis Skorecki, Luc Moullet… ; et de compagnons de route, comme Jacques Rancière ou Jean Louis Schefer. Ceux-ci, plus de vingt-cinq au total, ont marqué leur engagement en signant avec nous une tribune dans Libération.

Ce projet s'est déclaré il y a plusieurs mois. Il a évolué et s'est construit au vu et au su de tous. Ses atouts sont aujourd'hui connus : renouveler en profondeur les Cahiers en développant notamment une complémentarité nouvelle entre la revue et Internet ; assurer la pérennité de la structure dans toutes ses activités ; garantir l'emploi des salariés.

Tout cela, vous ne l'ignorez pas. Ou plutôt si, vous feignez de l'ignorer en maintenant votre candidature au rachat face à un projet maison. Vous annoncez en outre des licenciements.

Est-il possible que ces Inrocks-là soient les mêmes que le news magazine à la sensibilité de gauche affichée ? Est-il possible que vous convoitiez un titre démontrant, en ce moment historique, qu'il a la volonté et les moyens d'assurer par lui-même son avenir ?

Nous n'y croyons pas. Il y a forcément erreur.

N'attendez donc pas pour faire savoir que c'est faux : Les Inrocks ne veulent acheter les Cahiers. Ils sont trop attachés à la pluralité de la presse et à la vivacité du débat critique.

Bien à vous,

Pierre Alferi, Hervé Aubron, Christophe Beney, Nicole Brenez, Jean Douchet, Laurence Giavarini, Charlotte Garson, Gilles Grand, Bill Krohn, Ludovic Lamant, Elisabeth Lequeret, Arnaud Macé, Philippe Mangeot, Thierry Méranger, Cyril Neyrat, Eugenio Renzi, Antoine Thirion, Axel Zeppenfeld.

♬

"Time to prove my love for the land and for the nightingale; For in this age the weapon devours the guitar"
- Mahmoud Darwich

"No age for rhythm..."
- Jacques Tati (Parade)

Found: A musical revue from Tehran, 
going from the continent of cinema (Chaplin)
to the homeland of fiction (Russia),
the coalescence of the willing
the will of the coalescence.
Never coalition forces, forces coalition.
Cinema...

Une catastrophe,
c'est la première
strophe d'un poème
d'amour

***The Viennale Trailer for this year, by Godard

Danke
Dana
Linssen!

Vous n'avez rien contre la jeunesse????

Unsigned dispatch:

In May the media moguls of Le Monde announced that they were putting theCahiers du Cinéma up for sale. At the moment there are really two likely buyers for the magazine:

1. Thierry Wilhelm, an investor in Mediart who wants to see the magazine continue to evolve as it has under Jean-Michel Frodon and Emmanuel Burdeau.

2. Les Inrockuptibles, whose editor was one of the group Frodon and Burdeau replaced ten years ago, Jean-Marc Lalanne. Here is a description of that option that has already appeared in the French press: "According to Frédéric Allary (directeur général of The Inrockuptibles), « the talent of Cahiers should extend to all imagesi». As far as he is concerned a review of the video game Grand Theft Auto IV would be perfectly appropriate. The period Lalanne spent at the Cahiers already exemplified this broadening of the magazine's aims — too broad for some tastes. A wide open approach, open to video games, television and...reality tv. High treason? Perhaps. In any case, Lalanne, according to Allary, is pushing for a complete editorial makeover."

A return to the policies Lalanne advocates would be a return to the days when theCahiers, chasing vainly after the "youth market," interviewed pornographers and video game designers. It would of course entail — this was announced last week — the dismissal of the people who replaced that"forward-looking group": Frodon and Burdeau, as well as at least one indispensable 20-year member of the staff. Grudges die hard in Parisian intellectual circles...

The project of an independent Cahiers, financed by Wilhelm, has the support of 90% of the current staff, as well as a varied roster of old and new collaborators, according to a statement published in Liberation:

PIERRE ALFERI, HERVÉ AUBRON, CHRISTOPHE BENEY, STÉPHANE BOUQUET, NICOLE BRENEZ, JEAN DOUCHET, CHARLOTTE GARSON, LAURENCE GIAVARINI, GILLES GRAND, BILL KROHN, LUDOVIC LAMANT, ELISABETH LEQUERET, ARNAUD MACÉ, PHILIPPE MANGEOT, THIERRY MÉRANGER, CYRIL NEYRAT, JEAN-PIERRE REHM, EUGENIO RENZI, ANTOINE THIRION, AXEL ZEPPENFELD.

Rédacteurs anciens : CÉDRIC ANGER, JACQUES AUMONT, FRANÇOIS BÉGAUDEAU, JACQUES BONTEMPS, CLAUDE CHABROL, MARC CHEVRIE, JEAN-LOUIS COMOLLI, SYLVAIN COUMOUL, MICHEL DELAHAYE, BERNARD EISENSCHITZ, JEAN-PAUL FARGIER, JEAN-ANDRÉ FIESCHI, JEAN-LUC GODARD, PASCAL KANÉ, ANDRÉ S. LABARTHE, JEAN-LOUIS LEUTRAT, SUZANNE LIANDRAT-GUIGUES, LUC MOULLET, JEAN NARBONI, SYLVIE PIERRE, JACQUES RANCIÈRE, FABRICE REVAULT (D’ALLONNES), JEAN LOUIS SCHEFER, BARBET SCHROEDER, LOUIS SKORECKI, XAVIER TRESVAUX, DOMINIQUE VILLAIN.

Le Monde, which is just interested in making the best deal possible, might not care about that list of supporters, but anyone who cares about the magazine will recognize the names.

Proposals are being presented to the seller on Monday, September 15. It would be only correct and appropriate for Les Inrockuptibles and Jean-Marc Lalanne to withdraw their proposal, which would engage the magazine on a backward course unrelated to the aims and standards that have made it an important magazine.