Cannes, France —It was one of the more unusual inaugurations held during the Cannes Film Festival and perhaps one of the most inclusive. A cinema on wheels replete with seating for 72 and state-of-the-art projection capabilities was inaugurated in the Cannes neighborhood of La Bocca Nord, regarded as a priority neighborhood for developing education and culture. The movie-house on wheels was open, free of charge, to all throughout the duration of the Cannes Film Festival from May 17th until May 24th and will take to the hills behind the coastal city of Cannes until May 31st before embarking upon a journey through France to regions that are far from movie theaters, to rural towns and to priority neighborhoods in cities. All of the projections are free.

The CinéMo for Cinema Mobile, or Mobile Cinema was inaugurated by the Canal+ Foundation along with the Art Explora Foundation. The cinema itself was conceived by Canal+, its major sponsor. The cinema on wheels will project a full program of films chosen by a jury headed up by the great award-winning German director Wim Wenders. Films slated to be projected include Moonrise Kingdom, Persepolis and The Angels’ Share. During the Cannes Film Festival the traveling cinema projected films that were being shown at the actual festival. The cinema truck will then partner with the Annecy International Animated FIlm Festival from June 4th until the 21st bringing animated films to distant regions. The CinéMo will take to the road from June 25th until October 11th in the greater Paris region stopping off in villages of less than 3,000 inhabitants as well as in priority neighborhoods in cities, aiming to bring the world of cinema to those to whom it is not easily accessible. And giving a new twist to moving pictures as movies were called at the dawn of cinema.

The free wheeling movie truck is an extension of the Art Explora Foundation’s museum cultural trucks which aim to bring art to as many people as possible. According to RURA, an association dedicated to young people in rural areas, one in two rural residents have given up on cultural activities because of their remoteness or transportation difficulties. Fondation Art Explora is an officially recognized non-profit organization that aims to bring art and culture to as wide a public as possible. Canal+ is a major player in the production and distribution of films and content throughout the world. Its foundation aims to render culture and its related professions accessible to as many people as possible. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette