Due to a lack of financial backing, students who enrolled in 2017 will not be back in class in September.
- Jul 24, 2018
AceShowbiz - Officials at Luc Besson's film school in France are temporarily closing its doors to "reorganise" following funding issues.
The Lucy director launched L'Ecole de la Cite at his EuropaCorp movie studio headquarters just outside Paris in 2012, with the aim of accepting 30 students from various backgrounds annually to attend a free two-year programme to learn all about filmmaking.
However, applicants for the 2018 course have recently been taking to social media to share details from their rejection letters, which explained that there would be no intake of students this autumn.
The school hit headlines again on Monday, July 23, as founding director Laurent Jaudon announced he was leaving the facility, effective immediately, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Now a spokesperson for Besson's EuropaCorp firm has confirmed the school's operation is under review, due to a lack of financial backing, and as a result, students who enrolled in 2017 will not be back in class in September.
The representative explains they will "take advantage of the summer to reorganise," while they have also "decided to postpone the recruitment of new students".
"Because of insufficient state funding and because private donations are not at the necessary level, the school must redefine the conditions for financial balance," they added in a statement.
Since its opening, L'Ecole de la Cite has been funded by donations from executives at a number of sponsors, including luxury fashion group Kering and French network TF1, but the financial contributions have fallen significantly since the school's first year in business, from $2.1 million (£1.6 million) to just $210,000 (£160,230) last year (17), the outlet reports.
Besson has yet to personally comment on the school's financial struggles, but it's the latest drama he's had to face, after he was accused of sexual misconduct from a number of women.
Actress Sand Van Roy first filed a police complaint against the Fifth Element director in May, alleging he had drugged and raped her during a meeting at a Paris hotel, while earlier this month, four other unnamed females went public with their alleged experiences of inappropriate behaviour against the 59-year-old in an article for French publication Mediapart.
Besson has vehemently denied all allegations.
Meanwhile, he has also battled tough times financially for EuropaCorp following the low box office gross of 2017 sci-fi epic Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which starred Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, and Rihanna.
The movie cost more than $200 million (£152.6 million) to make, but grossed just $225.8 million (£172.3 million) worldwide, and company bosses subsequently posted losses of $135 million (£103 million) during the last financial year, and laid off 22 employees in January.
