The second edition of the Festival of Creations, which took place from October 5 to 22 in 20 theaters across the Azure coast, concluded with a festive awards ceremony at the Francis Gag Theater.
After three weeks of live performances in about fifteen theaters across five municipalities in the Alpes-Maritimes, the Festival of Creations is coming to an end and it’s time for a review. Patrick Mottard, municipal councilor, sub-delegate for live performance and the development of new cultural audiences, describes this edition as a “great success.”
“A qualitative success given the density of its selection, and a participatory success because we noticed that the venues were well filled,” he comments.
All performances were closely followed by a jury, presided over by Nice-based actress and director, Françoise Nahon. Composed of professionals from the live performance scene and representatives of student, senior, and social field audiences, it awarded three shows with the Jury Prize, the Special Prize, and the Audience Favorite.
Jury Prize, Special Prize, and Audience Favorite
Thus, the Audience Favorite was awarded to The Lesson, by the L’Émergence Company, performed at the Georges-Brassens Theater in Saint-Laurent-du-Var. The Special Prize goes to Villain, Villain Monster, by the Le Navire Company, performed at the Espace Magnan. And finally, the Jury Prize is awarded to Old Women, by the Cacho Fio! Company, performed at the Francis Gag Theater.
These award-winning shows will be scheduled at the Francis-Gag Theater and included in its next season. The audience will comprise at least 50% of people usually distant from culture, also referred to as “new audiences.” “The idea is to truly shape the spectators of tomorrow,” explains Patrick Mottard.
Two shows received a special mention from the jury president: My Body-Castle from the B.A.L Company for its commitment and sensitive expression and Citizen from the Les Hommes de Mains Company for its openness to the plurality of live performance disciplines.
Best Male Performer, Best Female Performer, and Best Director
This year, a new player joined the game. The Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolitan Tourist Office (OTM) presided over by Rudy Salles, allows for material rewards for the best performances, both female and male, as well as the best direction. “Our wish is to have tourism spread throughout the year, relying heavily on cultural tourism because it qualifies the image of a destination,” shares the OTM president.
Maxime Terlin was named best male performer for his role in the “committed and necessary” play You. Eve Stiévenard was awarded for “her versatile and accurate performance, her poignant presence, and exceptional comedic sense” as the best performer in the play Lost in Stockholm. The prize for the best director was awarded to Antonin Chalon for his work with La Compagnie Miranda in The Two Brothers, “a very interesting closed setting where the scenography becomes an entity, a character, an actor in this play.”
The winners each received a reward valued at one thousand euros. This includes a gourmet basket, two 48-hour French Riviera Passes, a pastry workshop at LAC for two people, a voucher for shopping at Cap 3000 stores, and a discovery stopover at the Les Terrasses d’Eze hotel.
For Patrick Mottard, this 2023 edition is just “the end of the beginning.” “The success of this second edition of the Festival of Creations must be appreciated in its true value, but we must convince ourselves that in terms of promoting Azurean creation and expanding, much remains to be done.”
