Auguste Coudray, President of the Festival la Gacilly
The festival La Gacilly is based on the “crazy wager” to put an entire village with a population of 2400 people “on stage” for four months. This has been going on for ten years, having welcomed more than 150 photographers since its creation, along with 300,00 visitors this year. It’s a family affair. They wander the streets, which become real public spaces with “an ethical and humanistic photography” on display. It also aims at innovation and excellence in the approaches it offers. Membership allows for visitors to become ambassadors for the event and the region.
The Yves Rocher Foundation is the biggest sponsor, but it only provides 40% of private funding (which represents 70% of the total budget). The festival is not the foundation’s only involvement. They also created the Prix Terre de Femmes,which recognized the work of women involved in the fight for ecology, and has developed a program, Plantons pour la planète, which aims to replant 50 million trees per year.
