France is the country that decided cinema was worth arguing about in print, and then sent the people writing the arguments out to make films. That is the whole story of the Nouvelle Vague, and it is why so much of what follows on this map cites Paris. It is also the most reliable co-production partner in the catalog: when a Senegalese, Iranian, Georgian or Vietnamese film got made at all, there is a good chance French money was in it.