The Saint-Brieuc Agglomération, an association of fourteen of Brittany’s municipalities or communes, has an original idea for a photography festival: use the money it raises to finance even more photography projects.

Alexandre Solacolu is a young man with a lot of nerve. He came up with the idea to organize some kind of cultural event to promote a region that’s very dear to him: the bay of Saint-Brieuc, located on the northern coast of Brittany, between the cliffs of Cap Fréhel and the Côte de granit rose.

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First, he managed to convince Michel Lesage, president of the Agglomération, and the rest of his team. They decided it would be a photography festival. Then he set his sights on Didier Rapaud, former photo director of Paris Match and former director of the Gamma photo agency. He was quite the catch: after forty years in the business, Didier Rapaud knows photojournalism and how to manage photographers.

Together, they explained to local businesses the interest of a public-private partnership to finance the festival. All the entries would be displayed in the bay’s more touristic areas. Photo festivals don’t finance themselves, after all.

“Given the dire economic situation for today’s photographers, I didn’t want to tell them: just send me your images and I’ll put them up. I want to make sure they’re compensated,” confided Didier Rapaud. “This isn’t a scholarship program. But we’re going to be there every step of the way to make sure each photographer gets the help necessary to produce his or her best work.” Each entry will receive funding according to its needs.

War photography, coverage of disasters, stories of women, men, animals: the festival is casting a wide net. “The important thing is that the stories are original, extraordinary. We conceived the festival to be like a magazine with a range of subjects, “ adds Didier Rapaud.

The festival’s name and date (October 2012) are subject to change, but the call for entries is real. Photographers can download an application from the festival’s web site. The application deadline is November 21, 2011.

Michel Puech

Links

http://www.photoreporter.baiedesaintbrieuc.com
http://www.baiedesaintbrieuc.com
http://www.puech.info

 Dernière révision le 3 mars 2024 à 7;15 par Michel Puech