A few days before the opening of its 15th edition, which once again promises to be sparkling, the Lumière Festival would undoubtedly have preferred to focus on this new opus which will crown Isabelle Huppert with her prize and will welcome big names from world cinema, from Benico del Toro to Xavier Dolan, including Vanessa Paradis, Jacques Audiard and Monica Bellucci. However, its teams also have to deal with figures and budgetary contingencies.
Tuesday October 8, the Métropole de Lyon informed the Board of Directors of the Institut Lumière, chaired by actress Irène Jacob, that it was going to reduce by 7.7% the subsidy allocated to the famous film festival l next year. A decision which comes as part of the reduction in operating expenses decided by the community, which is faced with significant budgetary difficulties.
Museums of Confluences and Lugdunum, Nuits de Fourvière and Biennales also concerned
In 2025, the budget allocated to the festival created with the decisive support of the Metropolis by Bertrand Tavernier and Thierry Frémaux, will increase from 1.04 million to 960,000 euros. The amount dedicated to the Institute, on the other hand, should not vary. This decision is in line with the directives formulated by Greater Lyon which, in a recent framework letter sent to its services, asked all departments to reduce their operating expenses by 15%.
The deputy vice-president for culture, Cédric Van Styvendael (PS), had already indicated that the efforts would necessarily affect the cultural sphere and that he intended to distribute them, in 2025, to the five largest institutions financed by the Greater Lyon: Confluences and Lugdunum museums, Lumière and Nuits de Fourvière festivals, Biennales. Already, for 2024, the Musée des Confluences had to cut 1 million from its operating budget, offset by the financing of investment projects up to the sum.
The Lumière Institute “understands budgetary logic”
“No surprise” on this side, we indicate at the Lumière Institute, where we say “understand the logic“budgetary and distribution”effort” and not “have to complain” support from supervisory bodies. Some of them could also intervene to support the Institute on other budget lines in 2025.
Cédric Van Styvendael shows himself first “surprised” and angry that the information was released so quickly. Basically, he accepts the logic of the choices at work, repeating that he has already informed the five major cultural institutions concerned for a long time that the budgetary effort would primarily focus on them.
“This is to avoid weakening smaller structures that are already bloodless“, he defends, “we work in consultation with these major metropolitan players“. Which should therefore soon know, in turn, what budget reduction they must deal with.
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