Garance opens a shared doorway into France’s film archives
The new heritage catalogue connects films, objects and documents, but it is not a free streaming library or a licence to reuse them.
France’s film heritage has a new online entry point. On 18 September, the CNC announced Garance, a shared portal bringing together its resources and those of six partner institutions, including the Cinémathèque française, Toulouse, Grenoble, Corsica, Martigues and the Institut Jean Vigo. The service is intended for researchers, film professionals and curious members of the public alike.
The project looks beyond films alone. Its catalogue brings together records of posters, photographs, costumes, equipment, drawings and written archives, alongside moving-image collections. That wider approach matters because cinema history is also the history of production, promotion, technical experiments and the people who preserve fragile materials.
A catalogue, not a streaming subscription
The accessible homepage offers separate searches for the catalogue and editorial content, plus an advanced-search option. It also carried a site-under-construction notice when consulted on 19 September. The launch announcement should therefore not be read as a guarantee that every section, link or collection is already complete.
Most importantly, Garance’s access policy explicitly distinguishes a catalogue from a viewing service. A record establishes that an institution holds an item and helps a reader find the appropriate route to it. It does not automatically supply a film, a downloadable extract or unrestricted access to the original material. Requests are assessed individually according to rights, conservation and the purpose of consultation.
How to use it without confusing access and rights
The Cinémathèque française’s own collections guide provides useful context: some material can be consulted in its library, while photographs and archival holdings may require an appointment. It separately offers a selection of rare films through its HENRI streaming service. These are different forms of access, rather than interchangeable promises made by the new catalogue.
For a student, teacher or creator, a sensible first step is to identify the holding institution and explain the intended project. Permission to consult is not permission to publish. Garance warns that institutions preserving a work are not generally its exploitation-rights holders, so anyone planning a screening, exhibition or production must check the necessary authorisations.
Sources & context
Reporting and reference material used for this article. Context sources do not independently confirm every news claim.
- CNC: Garance launch announcement, 18 September 2026 ↗Primary launch material from the coordinating institution, not independent evaluation.
- Garance: homepage consulted 19 September 2026 ↗Direct service inspection: search categories and visible construction notice. No claim of comprehensive functional testing.
- Garance: access to collections ↗Primary access and rights policy from the same service, not independent corroboration.
- Cinémathèque française: collections and consultation ↗Partner-institution context distinguishing physical consultation, appointments and HENRI streaming.
Written for WHIF from the linked material. This article does not claim on-the-ground reporting. Our editorial standards.