A history of Anglo-Norman cinema
Despite their small populations, the islands of Guernsey and Jersey saw the emergence of several movie theaters as early as the 1910s. Many of them have since disappeared, but some are still in operation, showing mainstream films as well as independent cinema and contributing to the island's cultural life. In Saint-Peter-Port, the Théâtre St. Julian's, built in 1876, became the island's first cinema in 1913, with a capacity of around 500. In St. Helier, on the neighboring island, the Jersey Opera House opened in 1914. These two theaters were soon joined by other complexes in the 1920s and 1930s, the most notable of which was surely the Regal Cinema, a splendid 1,038-seat complex that remained in operation until 1980. During the Occupation, these venues were systematically taken over by the Nazis, who used them to screen German films with little or no seating for civilians. It wasn't until 1945 and the Liberation that cinemas gradually reopened, but their numbers declined throughout the second half of the 20th century, victims as elsewhere of the advent of television. Today, some cinemas are still in operation. The Mallard Cinéma on Guernsey, rue de la Villiaze, , with its four screens and all-ages program. On Jersey, head to Cineworld, rue de l'Étau, to discover the latest releases, or to the Jersey Arts Center for independent films or retrospectives, in the original version of course. Finally, the smallest and cutest Anglo-Norman cinema is undoubtedly the Alderney Cinema, on Alderney. Attached to the island's cultural center, this cinema has been run by enthusiastic volunteers since 1982, and offers a rarer but equally interesting program.
Bergerac, the police series that made the island known to the British
Few productions have had as much impact on the Channel Islands as Bergerac. Filmed almost entirely in Jersey, this crime series follows the investigations of Jim Bergerac, a divorced father and member of the Alien Registration Office before becoming a private detective. At the wheel of his red 1947 Triumph Roadster, he crisscrosses the streets of the island to fight white-collar crime and flush out tax evaders. Broadcast from 1981 to 1991 on the BBC and from 1988 in France on La Cinq, the series has greatly contributed to the discovery of the island by Anglo-Saxon viewers. Bergerac Tours" are still organized today for the unconditional fans. Among the main places of this walk, you can discover the Haut de la Garenne, a former orphanage that is now a youth hostel and serves as a set for the Bureau des Étrangers from the third season onwards, or take a walk in the port of Saint Aubin, where the detective has his quarters. The Manoir de Noirmont is the residence of Jim Bergerac's father-in-law. Finally, a funny anecdote: as the series became more and more popular during the seasons, the teams had difficulty in renewing the shooting locations. The English director Geoffrey Sax tells that in spite of his efforts to unearth new sets and unpublished landscapes in the series, it regularly happened to him to return on a place of shooting hardly spotted and to discover traces of foot of camera, having been burned the priority by another director also working on the series.
From Charles Aznavour to Nicole Kidman, the big names who passed through Jersey and Guernsey
With the exception of Bergerac , film and TV productions shot on the Channel Islands are few and far between. This is due in part to the difficulties of transporting equipment, the limited accommodation available and the high cost of filming. Nevertheless, European filmmakers have taken advantage of the islands' unique atmospheres to create memorable settings. François Truffaut, for example, filmed L'Histoire d'Adèle H . in 1975. It tells the story of Victor Hugo's exile and, above all, that of his daughter Adèle, who falls madly in love with Lieutenant Pinson, a British army officer. Isabelle Adjani, barely twenty, plays this heroine in the streets of Saint-Peter-Port. The film uses the interiors of a house in Saint-Peter-Port to recreate the Hugo household, without using Hauteville House, the real Hugo home. Two years earlier, it was Charles Aznavour who, also in Saint-Peter-Port, starred opposite Peter Sellers in the war film The Blockhouse (1973), adapted from the novel by French writer Jean-Paul Clébert. More recently, the islands have played host to a number of international productions, including Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar's The Others (2001), starring Nicole Kidman. Without naming specific locations, the film draws on Jersey's coastal landscapes and misty meadows to set the scene for a major thriller of the 2000s. In 2008, French filmmakers Gustave Kervern and Benoît Délépine shot a few scenes from Louise Michel on the Isle of Jersey once again. This time, it's Yolande Moreau, a worker turned improvised hitwoman, who ventures onto the sandy beaches. A trashy black comedy by the duo behind Groland, who continue to make a name for themselves today with numerous films. In 2017, Jersey was once again chosen as the setting for a psychological thriller, Beast, directed by Michael Pearce. For this first feature film, the filmmaker chooses to tell the story of a young woman who falls under the spell of a mysterious man. To escape her tyrannical family, but also in search of a better life, she does everything in her power to defend this man accused of murder, in a stifling and distressing island climate. Once again, the unique atmosphere of the islands, with their mists and sea spray, contributed to the film's critical success. Don't hesitate to take a stroll along these shores to enjoy the atmosphere, before diving back into these works from all eras. Last but not least, Saint-Hélier is the birthplace of actor Henry Cavill, who starred in two blockbusters: Batman vs. Superman and Mission Impossible: Fallout. Since 2019, he has played Geralt de Tiv in the Netflix series The Witcher.
