OnMay1 1974, the " 14 Juillet Bastille " opened its doors, the first cinema launched by MK2, the company founded by Marin Karmitz in 1967. To mark the fifty anniversary of this event, which marked the development of one of the major adventures in French cinema, Marin Karmitz decided to make his personal archives and those of his companies available for research.
This made it possible to initiate meetings and an international symposium in partnership with two academic institutions, the École Normale Supérieure and the Collège de France, brought together under the umbrella of PSL (Paris Sciences et Lettres), with which MK2 and the Institut MK2 joined forces for the occasion.
This collective approach brought together some twenty researchers, who were able to work over two years on many aspects of Marin Karmitz's work : his origins, his training, his commitments, his films, his cinemas, but also the works produced, distributed and exploited by MK2.
In addition, some thirty witnesses, critics, artists, filmmakers, intellectuals and academics wanted to take up and confront some of the questions raised in the films studied, in particular the most urgent : Will cinema disappear ? And how can it continue ?
The debate part of the meetings will take place at the Collège de France, on October16 2024, while the research part of the symposium will be held at the École normale supérieure, onOctober 17 and 18 2024. In the evening, onOctober 15 and 17 2024, in the Salle Dussane at the ENS, film screenings will provide the indispensable cinephile supplement.
