The 41e Cinemed will take place from October 18 to 26 at Montpellier with for President Leoluca Orlando, who thus succeeds the former Minister of Culture Aurélie Filippetti. Strong political commitment from the festival dedicated to mediterranean cinema.
At the initiative of the invitation, Philippe Saurel underlined the inspiration that is for him the mayor of Palermo and all the importance of the presence of its Sicilian counterpart.
“I thought that in these very special times, which give cities the opportunity to make the world, it was important that a personality like Leoluca’s be at the head of Cinemed”, he explained, “Art, culture, cinema… is a vector which makes it possible to convey a certain number of very important messages for Humanity”.
A committed president
With the Mediterranean as its main axis, the Montpellier festival has never closed its eyes to the various social issues. “Our new president is a committed personality. Through the programming one might think that it is a combination of circumstances but it is not a coincidence ”, specifies its director Christophe Leparc,“ The Cinemed has always given the floor to committed filmmakers who have things to say because there are authors around the Mediterranean who talk about the different countries, the inhabitants, their conditions… ”.
Entrusting the presidency of the festival to Leoluca Orlando is therefore meaningful. “Our mission is to demonstrate that there is a house called the Mediterranean, which is a continent of water”, launches the president of Cinemed, “I think we are the demonstration that we are Mediterranean and are building the future. The Mediterranean is a place of migration of populations and the future of the world is called mobility ”.
Several strong fights
The mayor of Palermo is known for his fight against the Mafia, his commitment to migrants, his opposition to the far right and his refusal to align with the policies of Matteo Salvini’s government. Fights that the mayor of Palermo will develop during two meetings with the public during the festival. A first (October 18 at 6.30 p.m. at the Corum), during which he will return to his fights and the second (October 20 at 11 a.m. at the Corum) on the theme “A humanist policy of welcoming migrants” in the presence of Pietro Bartolo, doctor. in Lampedusa.
Some good quotes from Leoluca Orlando during the press conference:
“In the city of Palermo, dogs, cats and mice must walk together. We are against the fight between dogs and cats or between cats and mice ”.
“I am proud to be Catholic and to have been the first mayor to have celebrated a same-sex marriage in town hall. And the Archbishop did not protest, at least not publicly ”.
“I respect everyone’s rights but I claim that everyone respects the rights of others. To have made a big demonstration between homosexuals and migrants is a great sign of evolution ”.
“We don’t have migrants in Palermo. Because, by decision of the mayor, those who arrive in Palermo are Palermitans. This is how we have become a safe city. Imagine how Salvini must have whined when he saw figures from the Interior Ministry that Palermo was the safest city in Italy. Palermo welcomes everyone and is the safest city ”.
Leoluca Orlando also sheds undeniable media light, as evidenced by the press conference where cinema has somewhat taken a back seat. On the form, the choice of Philippe Saurel is not innocent. The president of the Metropolis had, on his arrival, wanted to boost a festival locked in old habits.
Things are moving as Henri Talvat concedes: “We are at an incandescent level at the moment”. The honorary president of Cinemed, originally wanted to put the spotlight on Italian cinema as he recalled, welcomed the arrival of Leoluca Orlando: “It’s almost a sign of the time to see you arrive in this 41e year. We never thought we would reach 40 years old. You are chairing year 1 of the new Cinemed ”.
Read also: Montpellier: director André Téchiné guest of honor at the 41st Cinemed
Montpellier-Palermo, a close link
The love story between Montpellier and Palermo dates from July 2016 when the two cities formalized their twinning. It is also the beginning of an intense relationship between the two mayors. Leoluca Orlando becoming a guide for Philippe Saurel on the role that the Hérault metropolis could play internationally.
“It is the cities and more the states, which make the planet. It was the professor who taught me that. He said it a lot, with Anne Hidalgo also, in the book What if mayors ruled the world. In this network of cities, there are now two French cities Paris and Montpellier. This is very important for the future when we are aware that we are not alone on the planet “explains Philippe Saurel before illustrating his point:” I owe the mayor of Palermo the fact of having brought in Montpellier in two important networks: the Open Arms network which clearly says that migrants must be treated with humanity and responsibility by Europe. And he is also the one who proposed my candidacy for the Global Parliament of Mayors which will meet in Durban, South Africa in a month when I have to make, and Montpellier with, my official entry ”.
The Sicilian mayor tells about his experience
“Montpellier and Palermo have an important role to play” underlined Leoluca Orlando. According to him between the two metropolises, “there is a shared vision that art and culture transform the outskirts into communities”.
The Sicilian mayor recounts his experience: “It is the great intuition that we had in Palermo and for that we must thank the Mafia. She made us open our eyes, mouths and ears. At first, we were a few crazy people fighting them when the others couldn’t see anything. Mafia violence woke them up, killed a few and woke millions. This is why we understood that art and culture help to stop being a periphery. Palermo was a periphery of Europe, today we are a Mediterranean city. But, not a capital, because it is very provincial to ask to be. I am proudly a city but I do not want to be a capital ”.
“A visionary called Philippe Saurel”
For Leoluca Orlando, “Montpellier, thanks to Cinemed, to art and culture has become a Mediterranean city. Also, thanks to the vision of the mayors who have succeeded one another. At the beginning of its history, it was on the outskirts of Europe, today no one can say ”. And if Palermo will host the Global Parliament of Mayors in 2020, its mayor is now campaigning for Montpellier to be the host city in 2021 and to justify while paying tribute to its counterpart: “Because everything fits. I am very proud to be friends with a visionary called Philippe Saurel ”.
> Find the programming and ticketing for the 41st Cinemed on cinemed.tm.fr.
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