our 15th anniversary!
 

Posted on 12.10.2024

In 2009, it all kicked off. Twice, even. First, there was the symbolic act that Eastwood, recipient of the founding Lumière Award, performed at the Gerland stadium (for an otherwise forgettable OL-Sochaux match, where the Lyon team lost, 0-2). The second saw the launching of a fledgling festival that would last just five days but which was nevertheless a serious undertaking, boasting rare film noirs, the discovery of Korean filmmaker Shin Sang-ok and the participation in a collective film by Agnès Varda, who was already carrying the banner of women in cinema. It was all witnessed by a public who viewed the festival as a sort of curiosity, yet who would become, over the years, a fiercely loyal audience. The die was already cast...

©Jean-Luc Mège Photographies / Institut Lumière 2009

15 years later, here we are, embarking on a rich and promising 16th edition. 15 years is nothing, a mere ‘adolescent age’, and yet the span is huge between L'Herbier's The Inhuman Woman and Gone with the Wind, taking us from avant-garde silent films to the advent of technicolour melodramas; from Wenders' Lisbon Story to the first Avatar, the latter manifesting our initial mistrust of digital technology, then later, heralding its triumph.

A great deal has happened in Lyon over the past 15 years: sold-out venues of festive or touching events, each time a singular experience, adding to the unforgettable involvement of  Quentin Tarantino, Tim Burton, Jane Fonda or Catherine Deneuve. The festival’s tradition of admiration and sharing has left artists in awe of the warmth of the Lyon audience, capable of revelling in both the joy of singing in the rain and the tears on the road to Madison. Although we indeed miss Bertrand Tavernier, we think we can still hear him marvelling as he recounts Henry Decoin's childhood or delivers his erudite speeches, vibrantly lauding the Lumière Award honouree.

Now in 2024, we’re not sure that, despite her love of football, Isabelle Huppert will make the trip all the way to Décines stadium to cheer on the Lyon team, but all the rest will demonstrate the public’s devotion to this established and constantly-enriched tradition, where creators are admired by the festivalgoers, now composed of connoisseurs, participating in a joyful communion, surrounded by enjoyment at every turn, eyes full of emotion. So, here’s to another 15 years... and beyond!

 Aurélien Ferenczi