for its 12th edition, the High Five Festival focuses on environmental issues
The High Five Festival, which takes place until October 2 in Annecy, devotes a large place this year to environmental issues in the mountain environment. A problem presented by committed associations, but also through about twenty films.
In addition to skiing, the mountains and the seventh art, the High Five Festival this year gives way to environmental issues. For its 12th edition, the festival, which runs until Sunday October 2 in Annecy, presents around twenty films evoking the climate issue.
And on the side of the stands, the “Impact” village highlights the actors committed to the preservation of the environment. Recycled materials, upcylng… The initiative makes sense for the participants. “It’s super important today not just to throw away but to reuse, to pay attention to what surrounds us”says a visitor.
With more than 20 000 visitors in recent editions, the High Five Festival, a meeting place for mountain lovers, marks the start of the winter season. By highlighting environmental issues, the festival team wants to address the youngest visitors.
“The festival hosts 60 % of festival-goers who are under 25 years oldconfirms Mathieu Kurtz, the director of the festival. We are on an audience that is young, hyper aware of all these issues, who wants us to talk about them and that they are taken head-on. We did it to respond to them, but we also do it because we believe in it.”
Among the issues related to board sports, that of transport arises first. It represents more than 50 % of greenhouse emissions produced by ski resorts. “To do without the car currently, we will be realistic, it is not possible in the mountains. We will try to encourage hitchhiking, carpooling or the use of public transport”suggests Alban Dominique, a volunteer with the Mountain Riders association.
It’s important to get to know the playground around us better
Gaëtan Gaudissard, freerider and directorin France 3 Alps
Raising awareness also involves films. On the occasion of the festival, more than 120 films divided between the indoor and outdoor cinemas are presented in the presence of the athletes who wear them. Twenty of them mentioned environmental issues. Gaëtan Gaudissard, freerider and director, offers through a web series another approach to the practice of sport in the mountains.
“It’s important to get to know the terrain around us better, to better adapt to the conditions and to scrape the powder around us rather than taking the easy way out as soon as the conditions deteriorate, taking a plane and go to Georgia or the other hemisphere”he judges.
Another novelty of this edition of the High Five Festival, the opening of a space dedicated to employment in the mountains. Faced with the difficulties of recruiting seasonal workers, 30 stands of potential employers welcome young festival-goers. “We are also here to make the ecosystem work. There are brands, ski lifts that are recruiting”justifies the organizer of the event, Hadrien Durand.
The needs are great, especially for the Compagnie des Alpes, which employs 3 500 employees in post, including 80 % of seasonal workers. For this season, he has 250 positions left to fill. At the regional level, the tourism sector should recruit nearly 62 000 people in 2022. A figure up 17% compared to the previous year.