The new force for independent film in the UK and Ireland

Originally launched under the brand banner of CinéFrance, CinéFile has broaded its scope in three years away from a purely Gallic accent to encompass challenging cinema from around the globe.

In a relatively short time the company, based in Scotland, has had the valuable experience of releasing widely different titles ranging from classic thriller, costume drama, youthful escapism, family comedy, to documentary and short films. In each case the title has received what has been described as the “boutique” rather than a “supermarket” approach.

This ethos ensures personal attention and input. Rights acquired normally have included theatrical and also terrestial and satellite television, video and DVD.

The team behind CinéFile which has been formed as a limited registered company with the backing of the Clydesdale Bank, have collective skills honed over many years that embrace exhibition, festivals, distribution, accountancy, multi-media expertise, technology as well as public relations and journalism. They are: Allison Gardner, Ilona Morison, Richard Mowe, and John Beattie, all of whom live and work in Scotland.

The company where possible has sought to promote the interests of Scottish film-makers alongside its international slate. To accompany its first release of Claude Chabrol's The Colour of Lies Irvine Allan's prize-winning short film Daddy's Girl was screened with the feature throughout the UK and Ireland. Special education work was stimulated for the screenings of The Cow and the Boy, a family comedy which attracted thousands of school children and their teachers, particularly on the Scottish leg of its exposure. Other releases have included L'auberge espanol (Pot Luck) and its sequel Russian Dolls by Cédric Klapisch, both successfully released in theatres. In a different register there was the lavish historical epic Le roi danse (The King is Dancing) by Gérard Corbiau.

The company, in collaboration with Scottish producing partners Skyline and Scottish Screen, has been responsible for the hugely successful distribution throughout the UK of the documentary about sculptor Andy Goldsworthy, Rivers and Tides which looks set to draw audiences until the end of the year and beyond. This initiative has enabled Scottish Screen to recoup its investment, and demonstrates the effectiveness of having a distribution company as part of the country's film infrastructure.

Future plans include such formulae as releasing packages of Scottish short films, looking at other Scottish titles which so far await a release, as well as continuing on wider international horizons including both Italian and Spanish output. The company also wishes to explore classic re-releases from European catalogues. Under the CinéFrance banner both Alain Corneau's Fear and Trembling released to tie in with Faber's publication of Amélie Nothombe best-seller on which it is based and Mehdi Charef's La fille de Keltoum, Jean-Paul Salomé's Arsène Lupin as well as another Chabrol, The Bridesmaid have been brought to screens in the UK and Ireland.

One of Europe's pre-eminent directors Claude Miller who has pledged his support to the ideals of the company, says: “I applaud this initiative which I hope will have the effect of ensuring that European cinema is much better represented in the UK than the select few titles that find distribution every year at the moment.”

Serge Le Péron, who is a member of the Société des Réalisateur (the French Directors's Guild, believes that "such initiatives are crucial in preserving Europe’s film industries.”

Gareth Evans, writing in the London listings magazine Time Out, commended CinéFile's approach and suggested that "Specialist set-ups offer something the majors can't"

Cinema exhibitors in towns and cities from Manchester, Dublin, London, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Bristol, to as far afield as Cork and Dublin have expressed their enthusiasm, confidence, and interest in the company's continuing development.