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A new name, a new venue, a new director ... The " Francophonies en Limousin " Festival, one of the major artistic events of the French-speaking world, opens its doors in Limoges, France, on Wednesday 25 September, with a new identity : " The Autumn Zebra ". Interview with Hassane Kassi Kouyaté, 55 years old, author, actor, storyteller and director from Burkina Faso, now at the head of " Francophonies - writings at the scene ", the institution named national reference center for the Francophonie.
RFI : Vagrant Rituals , the participatory creation of Martinique's choreographer Josiane Antourel opens the Autumn Zebra Festival. Does this mean a new role for the public ?
Hassane Kassi Kouyaté : Yes. For me, each Autumn Zebra Festival will begin with a participatory show, commissioned from a creator. He will work with associations in the city, department, region, and amateurs. To create a show that federates ages and different audiences.
For the first time in the history of this festival, it is no longer called The Francophonies in Limousin , but The Autumn Zebra . What is your priority in this change ?
It was important for me to do two festivals: The Autumn Zebra , dedicated primarily to the creation of stage performances, and The Spring Zebra with a focus on the writers and theatrical writings and other scriptures. The project as a whole is now called The Francophonies , to talk about the plurality of Francophonies, and Scripture to the stage to highlight the whole process.
You are the new director of this major event of the Francophonie. Do you still remember your first appearance in Limoges as an artist ?
I first came in 1986. My parents turned out to be actors and directors [ his father Sotigui Kouyaté was Peter Brook's favorite actor ]. There was a show of my father that I accompanied. In 1987, I came back as a storyteller with my own show. After, I returned to Limoges more than twenty times as an artist.
The first trip here was a shock for me, a positive shock. A decisive shock for the rest of my career. I, who came from Burkina Faso, it is in Limoges that I met for the first time Congolese, Quebeckers, Swiss-Romans, Belgians, Cameroonians ... In Burkina, I had never met before. This is also where I heard about the world differently, with other windows and other points of view. This has been instrumental in continuing my work in art and culture.
The Francophonies have changed their name, but also status. From now on, it is a national center of reference for French-speaking artists in France. What kind of Francophonie will you defend and create ?
What interests us here is to open ourselves to anyone who thinks and creates from the French language and French culture. It is also a place where other languages are highlighted. We talk about francophonie because we speak other languages, not just the French language. It is not a question of only taking into account the States that are members of the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF) or the States which have a colonial past with France, but to put the accent on the human beings who create from the French language and French culture.
You are a multiform artist yourself : storyteller, author, musician, dancer, director. For the first time, we will discover in the film festival, but still not the digital arts. What is the artistic form that you will highlight in Autumn Zebra ?
The theater remains our core business. The theater makes 60% of the programmed, the other disciplines 40%. It was important for us to open ourselves to the cinema because the writing of the documentary is a writing in full change, in full swing. Digital is not left out of the project either, it will depend on the proposals. Today, with the bridges between different disciplines, there is no longer a dichotomy at the level of creation. In many creations, there are several types of expression. What interests us: what are the innovative and relevant expressions that can bring something to the cultural, artistic, philosophical, historical and political debates?
As a founder of festivals, but also as an actor and director, you have one foot in France, the other in Africa. In programming, there are artists from Benin, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Congo, Gabon, Cameroon ... What is your vision for collaboration with African countries and artists ?
I was lucky to know many artists of several generations. My goal is first that this Francophonie is not exclusively an African Francophonie, since it is plural. With Africa, I will work more with other cultural operators who are based in different African territories and see with them how we can develop projects in the short, medium and long terms. I am not looking for projects in a hurry, but I want to help the emergence and accompaniment of new Francophone artists.
According to you, the Season Africa 2020 , with its title in English, what will it bring for the Francophonie ?
In Limoges, since the creation of the Francophonies, under all the directors and directors of the festival, Africa has always been very present and often at the heart of the program. So, this is not something extraordinary for us [to focus on African creation, editor's note], but we have to make sure it is. Bring lighting to contemporary African creation. Let's focus on new creators in Africa, but especially on collaborations with cultural structures and operators in Africa. Season 2020 must also serve to enlighten people who do not know this creation.
We are 30 years after The Wizards of the Earth , an exhibition that has changed the game in the field of art, especially for creation in Africa, but also in the West. Were there also effects in the field of theater following the Earth Wizards ?
In my opinion, yes, but not enough for my taste. I hope that Africa Season 2020 is the place where we will discover major creations that will mark the history of African theater, but also the theater around the world.
This week everyone is talking about climate change. What is the role of theater in this fight for the climate ?
I think theater has to be a public place where the issues that concern us have to be addressed. So the theater can not ignore today these essential questions for our survival.
► The Francophonies - Writings on the Stage, The Autumn Zebra, from September 25 to October 6, 2019, in Limoges, France