We went to Fort Worth, Texas, a city frequently used by Hollywood as a predictor of box office success, and organized a film festival with some of the most iconic French films ever made. But, just as expected, most people were not interested in the films and the festival failed. In doing so, we demonstrated that trusting these audiences’ opinions like Hollywood does, some great films would have never seen the light of the day.

We created a humorous short documentary that captured the Fort Worth audiences rejecting some of the most iconic French films, by choosing not to watch them at the festival. The documentary was screened at Alliance Française theatres to connect with our audiences in a new way and arouse their interest in French Cinema.

By demonstrating that you can make great films without following the Hollywood formula, this campaign helped challenge the beliefs of people who think Hollywood films are the ultimate form of cinema, and showed them how French films can offer a completely different cinematic experience. It increased the ticket sales at AF Theatres by 36% on the first 2 months of campaign.