I had the pleasure of participating on a panel at 17th Europa Cinemas Network Conference in Paris last month with Saskia Wazel, the policy manager for Consumer Focus UK. What follow is Saskia’s presentation “Cinema as the Essential Link Between Film and Audience” .
Saskia used herself as a case study and did a very good job also articulating why she did not want to see most movies. When I complemented her on her frankness, she responded:
“Someone had to tell them that they are having subsidised acid flashbacks since 1968…. it’s not real you know!”
Hammer to Nail 
Cinema is dead, no one goes to the movies, film is dead, who actually goes to the movies, they don’t make ‘em like they used to, there’s nothing new under the sun—my gosh, don’t you just WRETCH at the thought of these phrases, either in a hundred and forty characters or time-wasting think pieces or overheard on BART or anywhere else under the sun. Here’s the secret—and I’m preaching to the choir here—American independent cinema is going through an amazing renaissance at the moment. Really! It’s just ACCESS to these movies that’s the problem, but I’m getting ahead of myself.