2015 Conseil régional Rhône-Alpes Conseil régional Rhône-Alpes
Rhône-Alpes, tomorrow Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, is a great region of cinema. Cradle of the invention of cinematography by the Lumière brothers in Lyon one hundred and twenty years ago, it is the site of prestigious festivals: animated film in Annecy, short film at Clermont Ferrand, European cinema at Arcs and, of course, documentary at Lussas.
Our region is home to humanity's oldest images. More than a thousand drawings, thirty six thousand years old, decorate the Pont d'Arc cave in Ardèche, registered as a world heritage site by Unesco in June 2014. Its frescoes of rhinoceros, lions or horses in movement have been magnificently reproduced and made accessible to the general public at the Pont d'Arc Cavern.
These astoundingly beautiful images conceal a great mystery. What were our ancestors, the Aurignacians, trying to express in leaving these representations of animals on the walls of the Chauvet cave. Were they trying to document reality in a prescientific attempt to understand and describe the world? Was their activity driven by magical practice or spiritual concerns?
Thirty-six thousand years later, amid these same Ardèche landscapes, the Lussas based États généraux du film documentaire continue this same reflection around the image, a reflection which has become essential since images invade our lives in an incessant flow.
In addition to presenting a panorama of creative documentary, this curious, demanding and committed festival invites us to think about the technical and aesthetic mutations of documentary film and to safeguard our way of looking. It furthermore reminds us of the necessary role played by creative documentary in deciphering the world and also “curing” human beings.