2009 Conseil régional Rhône-Alpes Conseil régional Rhône-Alpes
With the inauguration of the PIXEL pole in Villeurbanne, that of the "Cour des images" in the former powder house of Bourg-Lès-Valence, the International Festival of Animated Film and the MIFA at Annecy, the arrival last February of Cartoon Movie, the world gathering of animated film projects, and now the programming of the "Lumière" Film Festival, 2009 has been a very cinematic year for our region. These events reinforce the positioning of Rhône-Alpes as one of the leading regions for the image in Europe and the world. They illustrate and reward years of political effort undertaken to support and structure the entire professional film industry, from production through screening and distribution.
Our region supports all forms of cinema: feature length and shorts, animated film but also documentary... I am convinced that documentary has an enormous role to play on both artistic and social levels. While maintaining a large measure of subjectivity and a genuinely artistic dimension, it has the merit of showing us the world as it is...
For many years, our region has lent its support to the États généraux du film documentaire de Lussas in Ardèche. From August 16 to 22 will take place the twenty-first edition of this festival which is unique because non-competitive and devoted to the exchange and sharing of experiences, to the reflection of cinema's evolution and also history.
I wish to salute the work of the association Ardèche Images which, in parallel with the festival, has allowed the development of a range of activities in relation with documentary. I also want to congratulate the volunteers who do not count their efforts to make this event a success. Finally, I wish you all a good visit to our region and an excellent festival!
Jean-Jack Queyranne
President of the Rhône-Alpes Regional Council
Deputy of the Rhône — Former Minister