{"id":530674,"date":"2026-01-14T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T06:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/?p=530674"},"modified":"2026-01-15T15:23:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T14:23:57","slug":"festival-international-des-cinemas-dasie-vesoul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/en\/cinema\/festival-international-des-cinemas-dasie-vesoul\/","title":{"rendered":"See Vesoul and relive"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Vesoul, the Festival international des cin\u00e9mas d'Asie, whose new edition kicks off on January 27, sells out every year. Meet Martine and Jean-Marc Th\u00e9rouanne, the architects of a cultural miracle that is both demanding and popular.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

La 32th<\/sup> he Festival International des Cin\u00e9mas d'Asie (FICA) de Vesoul will take place from January 27 to February 3, 2026. For eight days, the town will sparkle with a thousand lights. Emerging and established filmmakers will be there with gusto, but what's most incredible, in these times of cultural stagnation, is that theaters will be packed to the rafters at every screening, as they are every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The festival's audience is indeed a loyal one. They often come from far and wide, and chat cheerfully in the queues about the films they've just seen, or those they'll be seeing later in the day. Some spectators attend up to four screenings, and still find the strength and desire to participate in the afters<\/em>, These events bring together international producers, celebrities and cosmopolitan and local visitors for cocktails, quizzes and wild dancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also | All our festival articles<\/a><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

The miracle is manifold. How is it possible to fill cinemas with auteur films from countries whose cinema is little known to the general public, such as Burma, Bhutan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Yemen and Kyrgyzstan? How do these works manage to enthral viewers with the condition of being thousands of kilometers away and far from their own culture, to evoke discriminations and biases of thought without falling into a moralistic or didactic discourse? Where on earth do Martine and Jean-Marc Th\u00e9rouanne, the directors, find the strength to answer journalists at dawn and set the dance floor alight late at night?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An interview with these magicians of the seventhart, who for more than a week make the small town teased by a famous Brel song one of the most inspiring places on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le Regard Libre<\/em><\/strong>How did the festival adventure begin?<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Jean-Marc Th\u00e9rouanne: Since she was a teenager, Martine had been involved in cultural activities with the Association Haute-Sa\u00f4noise pour la culture, which promoted auteur cinema. In 1989, she co-founded the Cin\u00e9-Club des Cin\u00e9philes V\u00e9suliens, first as general secretary, then as president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1995 was the centenary year of cinema. The brothers Louis and Auguste Lumi\u00e8re were born in Besan\u00e7on, Franche-Comt\u00e9. Their father Antoine Lumi\u00e8re, a pioneer in photography, was born in Ormoy in Haute-Sa\u00f4ne, a village near Vesoul, in the Franche-Comt\u00e9 region. It was only natural that we should be involved in the centenary celebrations. The members of the board got together to look for an event to mark the occasion. Someone suggested: \u00abWhat about a festival? That's where Martine's personal history with Asia came in; she proposed \u00bba festival of Asian cinema\u00ab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As backpackers who'd traveled the length and breadth of geographical Asia, from the Near to the Far East, we conceived this event as a festival of Asian cinema, not Asian cinema, to show the plurality of these cinematographies. Films from all over Asia, not just the Far East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What were the first difficulties you encountered?<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Initially, financial support was very modest. The various people I met thought I was crazy: \u00abHow can there be an Asian film festival in Vesoul, when there's no Asian community, apart from a few Chinese restaurants and Turkish kebab shops?\u00bb Well, it worked, because of the gap that existed in people's minds between Asian cinema and their idea of Vesoul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We used this discrepancy as a communication tool. I've always rebelled against preconceived ideas. I don't understand why many people think you're smarter in a big city than in a small one. Martine and I have had to fight this prejudice tooth and nail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the modest size of the budget, we had to use it wisely, avoiding waste. We had to convince, convince again, convince again, to increase it step by step, step by step, in the fervor of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial support is always modest, given the budgets of film festivals of the scale we've achieved. 32,000 spectators at the 31th<\/sup> FICA Vesoul in February 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How come you haven't given up?<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

We're Franco-Comtois. The motto of Franche-Comt\u00e9 is \u00abComtois, rends-toi! Nenni, ma foi\u00bb, and as Bourgogne Franche-Comt\u00e9, we've made our own the aphorism of the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold: \u00abThere's no need to hope to undertake, nor to succeed to persevere\u00bb. We are a people of courage, and we know that nothing can be taken for granted in this world. The lion is on the flag of Franche-Comt\u00e9. It takes a lot of hard work to progress little by little, and never to be discouraged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n