2011 Édito Conseil régional Rhône-Alpes Édito Conseil régional Rhône-Alpes
"Love is a surprise that tears us from the insipid, attachment is a tie woven daily". These words by Boris Cyrulnik could well be a description of the twin ambitions of Ardèche Images, the documentary pole of Lussas, in the heart of southern Ardèche.
A solid tie has been woven with the terrain and its inhabitants, documentary activity has become a factor of neighbourliness, animation and also attraction. Far from being limited to a single festival, a dense web of activities has been built by the association around documentary film with Africadoc, documentary teaching, the Maison du Doc and, of course, the États généraux du film documentaire.
And though these strong and durable ties are cultivated, it is also true that each year the spectator comes across real surprises, renewed wonder and a genuine questioning of our society. For this is the ambition of documentary film: offer us fragments of the universe as it is and not as it should be.
Les États généraux du film documentaire, continuing the work carried out all year long at Lussas, fits in perfectly with the two hundred festivals of different kinds, scope and length subsidised by the Conseil régional. For there are two constant demands that govern our decisions: artistic quality and coverage of the region's territory.
At the same time, this event has a reputation that ranges far beyond our borders and holds a special place because of its non-competitive nature, the importance given to shared experience and more generally its broad connection to the multiple realities of our world.
Jean-Jack Queyranne
President of the Rhône-Alpes Region
Deputy for the Rhône – Former Minister