With the exception of Michel Boujenah's next film (the source material for which is in the process of being written), all the other projects have at least made it to the first-draft stage, if not farther than that.

The projects -- from "Sam'di Soir" to "The Odyssey," "Loc de Vac.eu" to "Angélique, Marquise des Anges," share three constants: the drive to create popular entertainment; well-crafted screenplays; European productions.

Well beyond financial considerations, the subjects we are attracted to require us, from the very beginning, to work from a resolutely European perspective. In effect, to make ambitious films, with significant budgets, we cannot rely solely on French financing. Of course, we could stay in the universe of French film and seek exclusively European partners for our films. It's a logical choice that certain of our peers have adopted with success.

Meanwhile, nothing justifies a European co-production better than films that are intrinsically European in mission. That is the case with each of our projects: "Sam'di Soir" will give rise to a Franco-Belgian co-production; "The Odyssey" will unite a great number of European countries; "Angélique, Marquise des Anges" is firstly a natural French-German co-production; "Loc de Vac.eu" takes place in Spain and brings together a French family and a German-Turkish family.

This European common denominator among our projects was so unconscious as to be accidental. And yet as accidents go, it could hardly be more fortuitous: for going beyond one's own borders seems to be a necessity for those independent producers who wish to remain so.

Europe in the 1970s was an incredible incubator of coproductions that gave rise to works lacking in identity. In turn, this lack brought an end to such coproductions. Today, we must grow the movement started years ago, and make Europe into the principal financier of European cinema, in giving birth to truly European works -- that is to say, based on our common European culture and identity, past and present.

Finally, the small team at Ajoz Films is convinced that a film resembles its director. Therefore the director is the most important person on the film. We are not speaking here only of the directors we work with repeatedly (though our continued relationships with Jan Kounen and Michel Boujenah clearly supports this).

We love to produce "first films." That is a constant at Ajoz Films. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a director make his or her first film, and witnessing the enthusiasm, engagement, and absolute commitment they bring with them. With Pierre Aknine and Michael Makache, we will be continuing with our tradition. And as far as we are concerned, age is no impediment to directing one's first film: Michel Boujenah and Olivier Marchal each were nearly 50 when they first did it. All this is simply an affectionate way of saying that the most important qualifications for a director are drive and desire.