the essential
Recognized professionals in the world of cinema and video, from Luc Besson to Pathé, notably with their company Chagar Productions, Tarbais Marlène Chavant and Stéphane Garnier, opened the Film Factory in Ste Anne, a school of cinema and image.
Cameras, projectors, black background: you don’t expect to burst into a film studio on the first floor of a building on rue Maréchal-Foch.
This is where Marlène Chavant (whose first name was destined for a career in cinema) and Stéphane Garnier set up the offices of Chagar Productions, their agency specializing in advertising, corporate films and the making of films.
A couple in life as well as on stage, the two accomplices from Tarbes met 20 years ago, when they went to Paris to study and work on film sets. Love at first sight, both emotionally and professionally, as their two personalities, one lively, the other more temperate, and their skills complement each other wonderfully.
The two virtuosos of the image made a name for themselves by making documentaries for several films of Luc Besson’s production company over ten years: “Arthur and the Invisibles”, “La Belle Époque”, Valérien”, “Taken”. But also for Pathé and UGC: “Mesrine”, “Saint-Laurent”, etc. They have more than 300 films to their credit, all genres combined.
But the couple never does things like everyone else. In addition to having the nerve to relocate their audiovisual communications agency to Tarbes in 2019 to reconnect with the “quality of life” of the capital of Bigorre, they decided to open a training center dedicated to the professions of image and cinema: the Film Factory.
“At 18, we would have liked to have a film school in Tarbes”
A scenario worthy of a film… but which has nothing to do with fiction. “It is the logical continuation of our professional career in the world of video and cinema. Today, we want to pass on our experience. When we left for Paris at 18, we would have liked to have a film school in Tarbes, if only because of the cost of living. There are serious assets to be put forward in a city like Tarbes.
“Our students may not need to find a job to finance their accommodation. Furthermore, very few training courses are dedicated to image professions in the South-West” explain Stéphane Garnier and Marlène Chavant.
But there is no question of creating a second-rate image school, quite the contrary: “There will be little theory and a lot of practice. We will use our “Parisian” network to bring in recognized professionals who will not only give master classes, but will also sponsor the promotions.”
A reference to Andy Warhol’s Factory, the Film Factory aims to be a “place of sharing, synergy and creativity”.
This is a good thing since they will be sharing the premises of the Ste Anne 2 station at rue André Breyer with a training center and the Anaten institute dedicated to animated films and video games, in a 200 m2 space with a computer room and a 100 m2 filming studio, equipped with the latest generation of equipment.
A two-stage rocket
Engine, action! The two-stage rocket will take off in two stages. From January 2025, a Qualiopi-certified training organization (which allows learners to obtain funding) will offer “modules” for professional adults, for example on social networks, shooting, video editing, “retouching” software.
This may concern employees in retraining, communications managers who wish to produce an advertising film for their companies, or even professionals in the image industry who wish to improve their skills.
In September 2025, a film and audiovisual school will open for students, with two years of general training and a third year of specialization (editing, image, production, etc.) which will lead to the obtaining of a professional title recognized by the State.
