French movie institution Cahiers du Cinema has found a new home in Phaidon Press which closed a deal to purchase the venerable film magazine from Le Monde this week.

Le Monde bought the title in 1998 and announced last April that intended to sell it as part of a reorganization plan.

London-based Phaidon publishes high quality books across the spectrum of visual arts and has recently expanded its range to include travel and cuisine as well as children's books. Cahiers also operates a publishing division which puts out a range of books on cinema which Phaidon sees as a perfect complement to its core business.

Cahiers was founded in 1951 by Andre Bazin and holds a legendary place in cinema by creating the concept of the auteur theory and spawning the Nouvelle Vague. Early staff writers included Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut and Claude Chabrol.

The magazine has had an extraordinary history, although in recent years it has struggled,' said Richard Schlagman, the publisher of Phaidon who bought Phaidon out of receivership in 1990. 'I am determined to once again make Cahiers du Cinema play a central role in the world of filmmaking and indispensable to its participants and aspirants. I am positive that Cahiers can once again become relevant to our times and speak to a new generation of cinephiles.'

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