The Night of the Ad Eaters® :: The Cinematheque Jean Marie Boursicot is the biggest library in the world dedicated to TV and cinema commercials.

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The Cinematheque Jean Marie Boursicot is the biggest and only film library in the world dedicated to TV and cinema commercials.

Today, this unique library contains more than 950,000 commercials from all around the world, the very first one dated from 1898!

With this incredible collection, Jean Marie BOURSICOT has created, in 1981, a unique concept, which soon became a huge and well known event in more than 40 countries, The Night of the Adeaters®.

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As a child fascinated by the cinema, Jean Marie BOURSICOT haunted the dimly lit halls, sitting in the front rows, where the ticket in Marseille cost 3 Francs in the 5 avenues area...

It all started at age of 3!
After having discovered his first treasure, a big poster lauding the merits of GERVAIS cream cheese, he decided to become the ALI-BABA of advertising. The operator of the "Ciné Madeleine", a local cinema, who found this kid loveable, gave him films of candies (KREMA sweets, MIKO ices...). The embryo of a collection was born. He rifled the waste cans ! not just any ones ! Those of film distributors of the boulevard Longchamps who, carelessly unaware, discarded trailers and advertising films. By accumulating his "treasures" he mixed his passion for posters and advertising with that for the cinema, without imagining, at that time, turning his passion into a business.

After his study years, he emerged in Publicis in 1978. There he discovered that no one keeps advertising films ! Neither advertisers, nor agencies nor the producers ! They all just discard them ! Jean Marie Boursicot decided to create his Cinematheque.

Today it contains more than 950.000 films and grows each year by 10.000 - 25.000 extra items.

In 1981, this cinema fanatic opened up the gates of the temple and created the first Night called "Friandises" with two objectives : to have his passion shared and to collect the funds needed for the maintenance, restoration of old films and the payment of trips which allow him to criss-cross the globe in search of the rare pearl.

The Night of the Adeaters in Paris and the Provinces became an institution gathering 70.000 people in 1984 and beginning its establishment in Europe.

The 12th edition in 1993 found 12.000 faithful in two Paris nights before leaving for Poland, Greece, Canada, Australia.

The menu made up of 500 films, 480 of which previously unscreened, is always attractive and surprising ! International, exotic (Egyptian, Indonesian panorama), historical (from 1898 to the present day), it reflects the vitality and the trends of world-wide advertising (French advertising never represents more than 20% of the cocktail and Jean Marie BOURSICOT considers that henceforth creativity is the stamping ground of South East Asia). No censorship is involved: alcohol, tobacco and sex are present. Top actors are involved as well as Top level athletes. The great causes are displayed : Nature protection, Aids, Humanitarian Aid, Euthanasia, Organ Bequests...

Simply, the NIGHT becomes advertising, advertising becomes a show...

The little cinema-loving boy is now the guardian of the temple and the memory of this world of the ephemeral, fashion and creativity. His cinematheque has become the living museum of this special sector of the cinema.

Jean Marie BOURSICOT is a happy collector!

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