• The 18th edition of the Gacilly (Morbihan) photo festival opens this Thursday.

  • While many festivals are canceled or postponed, the event has managed to hold on like last year.

  • After Latin America, the photo festival will head to the Scandinavian countries this year.

A true miracle worker. While the world of culture has been sailing on sight for fifteen months, juggling between cancellations and postponements, the Gacilly photo festival in Morbihan is holding the bar. Last summer, the demonstration had already been one of the very few to resist the Covid, its opening having just been postponed by one month. And the public had responded with 307,000 visitors who had walked the flowery alleys of the small city of character.

“When they came out of confinement, people wanted to go out and escape with family or friends,” underlines its president Auguste Coudray.

Latin America was also in the spotlight with colorful exhibitions that gave the opportunity to travel and even the desire to dance ”.

Its format, free and in the open air, has the advantage over other festivals.

"We never exceed 5,000 people per day either since it lasts four months," says Auguste Coudray.

A reduced number of exhibitions and an imposed circuit

To get the green light from the authorities, the event, which has become one of the largest photographic festivals in Europe, however had to adapt and revise its copy a little. The number of exhibitions presented has thus been reduced, from 26 to 19. An imposed circuit has also been set up to prevent people from crossing paths. “We had a Damocles sword over our heads because if a cluster was detected, we had to immediately stop everything,” he assures us. But people have followed the instructions perfectly. They even congratulated us by telling us that they felt safe ”.

The device having proved its worth, the organizers have therefore renewed it for the 18th edition which opens this Thursday.

"The context is still less tense this year but we must remain very vigilant", emphasizes Auguste Coudray, aware of being a privileged.

"It is true that we are lucky to be able to open when I see the number of events that have still been forced to cancel or postpone," he said.

A "whistleblower" festival

In terms of programming, the festival will this year take the direction of “Plein Nord” with a focus on Scandinavian photography.

"The work of these Swedish, Norwegian or Finnish artists exudes so much serenity even though they live in wild and rough places", enthuses Auguste Coudray.

📷 The # AFP renews its partnership with the La Gacilly Photo Festival which will take place from July 1 to October 31, 2021 https://t.co/DcBEK0Hc6q#lagacillyphoto #exposition pic.twitter.com/t77VZ3eyHB

- AFPcom (@AFPcom) June 30, 2021

Throughout the 22 exhibitions, the public will also be able to discover the incredible odyssey of monarch butterflies between the north of America and Mexico or dive into the heart of the Ecuadorian forest, where the Kichwa people of Sarayaku live and watch over it.

"We are there to amaze but also to warn of the dangers that threaten the planet such as global warming", concludes the director, who sees his festival as "a whistleblower".

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  • Coronavirus

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