THE 'CINEMATHEQUE JEAN MARIE BOURSICOT'

The Cinematheque Jean Marie Boursicot is the biggest and only film library in the world dedicated to TV and cinema commercials.

At first, Jean Marie Boursicot only intended his cinematheque to serve as a resource for students of advertising, so he mainly approached business schools and professional training organizations. Well-received by the advertising community and supported by the major agencies, the Jean Marie Boursicot Cinematheque gradually expanded its activities.

Jean Marie nevertheless soon realized that without public or private subsidies, he would have to find new financial resources to ensure the preservation of advertising archives and guarantee the Cinematheque’s survival and independence.

In 1981, he therefore created the very first “Nuit des Publivores®” (in English: “The Night of the Ad Eaters”), called "Friandises", with two aims: to share his passion and collect the funds necessary for the care and restoration of old films.

In short, the “Night of the Ad Eaters®” became advertising and advertising became the show. The cinema-crazy little boy had become the “guardian of the temple” and the “memory” of the ephemeral world of fashion and creativity.

Established in Switzerland since 2005, for insurance and copyright reasons, the “Jean Marie Boursicot Cinematheque” is now internationally recognized as the greatest existing museum in the global advertising-film sector.

The Cinematheque in figures. The activity, the media, the museum.

• Statistics
  - More than 950.000 films, 80 countries.
• The annual contribution of the agencies
  - 750 correspondents across 80 countries, 10,000 to 20,000 new films a year.
• General philosophy
  - To make the Cinematheque, which receives no subsidies, thrive while enriching its contents.
• Partnership with TV stations:
  - Broadcasting of the Night of the Ad Eaters (Rai 3, Canal +, France 2, TF1, TSR, RTBF)
  - Various retrospectives
  - Illustrations of TV broadcasts, telefilms and feature films
  - Sale of turnkey shows (MCM, COMEDIE, PARIS PREMIERE, PRO TV Romania, QUATRE SAISONS Quebec, BERLUSCONI Group, TV AZTECA Mexico)
• Video publishing:
  - The Cinematheque produces numerous thematic compilations and documentaries about advertising, with numerous distributors (FOX PATHE EUROPA, POLYGRAM, STUDIOCANAL, UNIVERSAL).
• Use by institutions:
  - The Cinematheque regularly collaborates with Paris’s Pompidou Center, the Cité des Sciences and other museums and institutions, with permanent or temporary exhibits.
  - In early 2003, the Vienna Technology Museum (Technisches Museum Wien) opened a space dedicated to the Jean Marie Boursicot Cinematheque and the history of film advertisements.
• Educational activities:
  - The Cinematheque collaborates with numerous publishers of academic works, including, notably, HACHETTE EDUCATION.
  - Jean Marie Boursicot gives numerous lectures in schools and universities in France and abroad.
• Picture Research:
  - Most of the world’s advertising agencies approach the Cinematheque regularly to obtain historic, thematic or sector-based film footage.

It all started at age of 3!
As a child fascinated by the cinema, Jean Marie BOURSICOT haunted the dimly lit halls, sitting in the front rows, where the ticket in Marseille cost 3 Francs in the 5 avenues area...

After having discovered his first treasure, a big poster lauding the merits of GERVAIS cream cheese, he decided to become the ALI-BABA of advertising. The operator of the "Ciné Madeleine", a local cinema, who found this kid loveable, gave him films of candies (KREMA sweets, MIKO ices...). The embryo of a collection was born. He rifled the waste cans ! not just any ones ! Those of film distributors of the boulevard Longchamps who, carelessly unaware, discarded trailers and advertising films. By accumulating his "treasures" he mixed his passion for posters and advertising with that for the cinema, without imagining, at that time, turning his passion into a business.

After his study years, he emerged in Publicis in 1978. There he discovered that no one keeps advertising films ! Neither advertisers, nor agencies nor the producers ! They all just discard them ! Jean Marie Boursicot decided to create his Cinematheque.

Today it contains more than 950.000 films and grows each year by 10.000 - 25.000 extra items.

In 1981, this cinema fanatic opened up the gates of the temple and created the first Night called "Friandises" with two objectives : to have his passion shared and to collect the funds needed for the maintenance, restoration of old films and the payment of trips which allow him to criss-cross the globe in search of the rare pearl.

The Night of the Adeaters in Paris and the Provinces became an institution gathering 70.000 people in 1984 and beginning its establishment in Europe.

The 12th edition in 1993 found 12.000 faithful in two Paris nights before leaving for Poland, Greece, Canada, Australia.

The menu made up of 500 films, 480 of which previously unscreened, is always attractive and surprising ! International, exotic (Egyptian, Indonesian panorama), historical (from 1898 to the present day), it reflects the vitality and the trends of world-wide advertising (French advertising never represents more than 20% of the cocktail and Jean Marie BOURSICOT considers that henceforth creativity is the stamping ground of South East Asia). No censorship is involved: alcohol, tobacco and sex are present. Top actors are involved as well as Top level athletes. The great causes are displayed : Nature protection, Aids, Humanitarian Aid, Euthanasia, Organ Bequests...

Simply, the NIGHT becomes advertising, advertising becomes a show...

The little cinema-loving boy is now the guardian of the temple and the memory of this world of the ephemeral, fashion and creativity. His cinematheque has become the living museum of this special sector of the cinema.

Jean Marie BOURSICOT is a happy collector!