This weekend, the Nice-based association Héliotrope celebrated its 25th anniversary and organized several film screenings in Nice, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, and Mougins for the occasion. In total, seven films were shown and two guests of honor presented their films.
Founded on January 15, 1997, Héliotrope is an association that aims to promote short films in Nice. It is also behind Un festival c’est trop court, the first European short film festival in France, and conducts image education workshops in the region’s kindergartens, primary schools, middle schools, and high schools.
While the association is mainly known in Nice for organizing its European festival Un festival c’est trop court!, this weekend it organized events in three cities of the department to celebrate its 25th anniversary. On this occasion, we met with Laurent Tremeau, one of the four founders of Héliotrope and the artistic director of the association.
When discussing the choice of programming for this 25th anniversary, Laurent Tremeau explains that the films presented have been shown by the association before, and the choice of guests was made “because they stood out among a selection of artists”. The guests in question: Emilie Aussel, who came to present her latest feature film, L’été l’éternité, and Antonin Peretjatko, who presented two of his short films that had participated in Un festival c’est trop court. He also presented exclusively Les rendez-vous du samedi, a medium-length film, between documentary and fiction, filming two years of Yellow Vests demonstrations and shot on 16mm.
“We don’t only showcase films that have never been seen, but since short films are generally very little seen, we give them visibility. We don’t necessarily seek exclusivity; we primarily aim to show films that we like,” the artistic director clarifies.
25 years of short films in the spotlight
What can we make of these 25 years? When asked, Laurent Tremeau tells us that it’s “a great pride”. “It started as a student project in a kitchen, so between that and an association that has hired people and developed at the city level, it’s quite significant,” he says.
Indeed, the association now counts 21 editions of Un festival c’est trop court during which more than 30 nations are represented each year and over 150 films are programmed. Since the first edition in 2000, about 5000 films have been screened, and the festival has hosted over 1000 guests.
However, Laurent Tremeau highlights that he is not alone behind this project. “Héliotrope is an ecosystem; it truly is a collective work,” he notes.
In short, Héliotrope is an association that has continually developed, providing, among other things, a platform for thousands of short films and filmmakers from all over Europe. Although it promotes short films, this “student project” has lasted 25 years, and we wish it an even longer future.
