VILLENEUVE-LÈS-AVIGNON Black humor on the menu of the thriller festival
Become essential in the cultural landscape of Villeneuve and beyond, the Festival of the thriller returns from November 12 to 14 with a stripping theme: black humor.
A salutary theme after the bad covid joke, which had a hard impact on the sixteenth edition last year, for “Get out of this anxiety-provoking being and get some fresh air”, suggests the mayor of Villeneuve Pascale Bories. And black humor has its place in a very codified literary genre, as evidenced by the coronation of Hannelore Cayre and his thriller The mum, since brought to the screen, four years ago at the Festival’s Readers’ Prize.
To best illustrate this theme, the organization of the festival, always linked to a masterful hand by Corinne Tonelli, sought out the genre specialist Jacky Schwartzmann as associate author of this edition. Dark humor feeds the debates of the round tables, but also the festival exhibition, dedicated this year to San Antonio and its famous author Frédéric Dard, master in the dark tinged with humor. The author, whose birth centenary is celebrated, is also at the heart of the show San Antonio enters the scene. The Night of the Black remains in the register, with the screenings of the films To tear out by Guy Ritchie and It happened close to you by Rémy Belvaux, two nuggets with scathing humor.
Dark humor always, with the street show Monsieur Secondegré has disappeared, an ambulatory clownish investigation. Children and families in general will not be outdone, with the Lupine Challenge, a big game throughout the city, a scientific investigation with the Little Resourceful and another by Inspector Farfouille at Fort Saint-André, or even visits -investigations at the Pierre-de-Luxembourg museum, which is participating for the first time in the festival, and at Fort Saint-André.
The winner of the 2020 Readers’ Prize, the Belgian Paul Colize, will be in the spotlight with a piece he wrote during confinement, Before God and men, an assize trial where the public will serve as jurors. “He will offer it for reading at the Chartreuse, eleven of our guest authors will read the roles, and the public will decide at the end of the trial whether he condemns or acquits the accused”, presents Corinne Tonelli.
Six current authors to succeed Paul Colize on the winners of the prestigious Readers’ Prize of the festival, and will be present on the set. This is Sophie Chabanel for The cat’s hold (Threshold), Cyril Herry for Storm Yonna (In8), Caroline Hinault for Solak (Le Rouergue), Hervé Le Corre for Cross the night (Black shores), Marin Ledun for Their soul to the devil (Gallimard) and Michel Moatti for Winter gardens (Hervé Chopin).
31 authors in all, including Michel Bussi, the regular Patrice Gain and Benoît Severac, present, as well as ten editors. A sign of the place that this festival has succeeded in making, now supported by the National Book Center, the DRAC and the Sofia organization. A festival whose conviviality and setting, first and foremost the Chartreuse, are very popular. “Everyone made an appointment in Villeneuve”, summarizes Corinne Tonelli.
The full program is here.
Thierry allard