• Prologue

Once upon a time there were five feature films made by Pierre Etaix, lying dormant for many moons in their metal cases awaiting the coming of a distributor Prince Charming to awaken them ...

• Acte I 

Unlike Sleeping Beauty, who could snooze forever free of wrinkles, the films of Pierre Etaix underwent the ravages of time. In short, a serious makeover was required, or what the specialists call restoration.

Having no access to the negatives for simple legal reasons, Pierre Etaix and Jean-Claude Carrière asked a Good Fairy of Justice to help them. She did so - successfully.

Thus, the alchemists of restoration might finally be put to work, and we Imps – or film buffs –would soon rediscover YOYO and THE SUITOR, or be startled by the incredible modernity of THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY (Pays de Cocagne).

• Acte II

But the real work had yet to be done: finding money for restoration, a distributor to distribute, and theatres to exhibit the films...

Emboldened by her success in court and, as a result, reassured by the extra confidence shown in her by our two friends, the Good Fairy of Justice had an idea: why bother to await the hypothetical arrival of a Prince Charming; why not act now in the interest of YOYO, ensure THE SUITOR recovered its breath and have Pierre Etaix finally enjoying a real release of his LAND OF MILK AND HONEY...

As a matter of fact, our Good Fairy of Justice had a White Knight in mind: her brother. He would find money for the restoration, defend the interests of the authors and combat all shysters and predators ...

• Acte III

Everyone in the land of Imps burned with impatience, eager to re-examine the movies of Pierre Etaix! But, first of all, the newcomer's position had to be regularised, so the Good Fairy of Justice prepared a parchment...

Feuchechcrrr; Feuchechcrrreuh, Feuchechcrrr, (noise of a goose feather writing).
The parchment contained magic formulae by which the exclusive, world-wide rights to the films might, at an appropriate time, be ceded to the White Knight as a reward for his valour...

Uh, it's a little complicated for us Imps, but there it is.

• Acte IV

Three long years passed... Not a centimetre of film was restored!
The films remained dormant in their boxes. In the land of Imps, people grew impatient...

The White Knight had become a Phantom Knight, so Pierre Etaix and Jean-Claude Carrière denounced that parchment written three years earlier. They dispatched an official missive borne by two special Couriers of the King respectively entitled "Registered Letter" and "Acknowledgement of Delivery" (that one was a noble).
At all events, the missive was ignored.

• Acte V

In a few months, they did all that our "White ex-Knight" had failed to achieve in three years ..... The GAN Foundation for the cinema had come on board to restore the superb YOYO.

At last, something concrete!

Without wasting time, Francois Ede (the man who showed us how to reproduce the original colors of Jacques Tati's Jour de Fête) vowed to give his all on the film.

• Acte VI

Act VI might have been the last, providing a well-deserved "happy ending". It was not to be. The happiness of some often awakens consupiscence in others...

The Good Fairy of Justice and her White Knight suddenly rose up in anger, waving the famous parchment previously denounced by our two friends, indignantly declaring that no action on the work of Pierre Etaix could be taken without their consent, etc... etc...

The professional inaction of yesterday was transformed into fierce legal agitation...

There was even a summary lawsuit... that Pierre Etaix and Jean-Claude Carrière lost. Gazing at the magic formulas of the parchment, the Judge considered the whole business beyond his competence. Even so, he condemned Pierre Etaix and Jean-Claude Carrière to pay a substantial fine thanks to this inopportune reanimation of the Good Fairy of Justice and her White Knight. He summarily dispossessed our friends of all rights to their five feature films...

• Acte VII

Malgré tous ses déboires, l'acte VII est heureux, et c'est tant mieux.

Le magnifique YOYO restauré fut tout de même projeté en 2007 au festival de Cannes et à la Cinémathèque de Paris. Quelques Lutins rieurs eurent la chance de redécouvrir le film tel que l'avait imaginé le clown-réalisateur quarante-trois ans plus tôt.

• Epilogue

The end of this story remains unknown, but in the land of Imps, we wish for only one outcome: that Pierre Etaix recovers the rights of his films so that we may see them!
Otherwise, Imp-film buffs will be denied a body of work that has gathered many
awards, notably an Oscar in Hollywood, a Prix Louis Delluc, and prizes in Cannes, Berlin, Moscow...

Today, Pierre Etaix and Jean-Claude Carrière are trying to “retrieve their films" by asserting their legal rights. Your messages of support are vital.

If like us you admire the world of Pierre Etaix and Jean-Claude Carrière, please sign this petition and you will thereby contribute to the re-release of their films.

You can also join the organization « IL ETAIX UNE FOIS »