Dijon, capital of adventure books

“Let people in the cities live more simply, so that we can simply live.” These few words fromIce Builders, movie of Francesco Clerici et Tommaso Barbaro recounting the struggle of the inhabitants of the Himalayan valley of Zanskar against climate change, will undoubtedly resonate for a long time in the minds of the Dijon public.

Between poignant screenings, high-end literary encounters and other “astrobivouac”, the 33^e edition of Écrans de l’aventure, an international adventure film and book festival organized by La Guilde and the city of Dijon, ended on Sunday October 6 after an intense week.

For six days, no less than 97 meetings were held with thousands of spectators, bringing together the cream of French adventurers and travel writers, from the Olympia cinema to the Cellier de Clervaux via the Le Darcy cinema. In addition to the bookstores present on the festival grounds, a few publishers made the trip, like the essential Éditions du Mont-Blanc of Catherine Destivelle.

Among the most notable moments of these few days organized around the common thread “The adventure to grow”: nighttime hiking-readings, a photo exhibition in the city on the other side of Nanga-Parbat or even the broadcasts of Sophie Lavaud, the Last Summit of Francois Damilanofollowing the first French woman to have climbed the fourteen 8000 of the planet, or One with the Whale of Pete Chelkowski et Jim Wickensrecounting the cyberharassment suffered by a young whale hunter in Alaska, and which particularly left its mark.

Authors on the move

Other highlights of the festival: the numerous literary meetings and round tables, organized under the vaults of the Cellier de Clervaux. One of them, organized by Weekly Books, saw four authors selected for the Golden Fleece adventure book prize share their experiences and learning with the public, and discuss their relationship to movement and their motivations for going on an expedition.

When Morgan Seguy (Five days in Timor, First parallel) described himself as incapable of staying still, Pierre-Antoine Guillotel (Island, Transboreal) told him about his fascination for the far north. Macha Séra (On Hadrian’s Wall, Stock) highlighted the historical, botanical, political and archaeological attraction that the ancient Roman wall had on it, and Antoine de Suremain (Desert WalkSalvador) expressed his unconditional love for French natural heritage and the adventures it offers.

Morgan Segui and Pierre-Antoine Guillotel rewarded

It is precisely two of these latter authors who were awarded the literary awards of the show. Morgan Segui, author of Five days in Timor (First Parallel) became the winner of the Golden Fleece prize for adventure book of the year 2024. In this intense survival story, the author, then based in Timor-Leste, between Australia and Indonesia, recounts his ascent of Manucoco, a sacred mountain located on an island off the coast of the capital.

As he completes the ascent, the ground gives way, he falls seven meters on a slope which is 40. Morgan spends three days and three nights on the ground, motionless, his skull exposed, his bones fractured, without water, without living, without contact. What followed was a survival test in the middle of the jungle, which fascinated the jury and the Dijon public throughout the festival.

Note that, on the book side, the jury this year was chaired by Sébastien de Courtois and composed of Katia Fondecave, Gaële de la Brosse, Virginie Troussier, Arnaud de la Grange et Rémy Oudghiri.

3,000 km of grueling walking

Another literary prize awarded at the festival this weekend, that of the readers’ prize from the Municipal Library of Dijon, awarded to Pierre-Antoine Guillotel pour Island, the call of 66° North published last June by Transboréal. In 2020, this young Breton who worked as much in finance as as an oyster farmer or fisherman in Australia, embarked on a grand tour of Iceland on foot and alone.

What follows is the story of a 3,000 kilometer loop of a grueling walk, from glaciers to dark deserts, from swamps to volcanoes. A 144-day journey during which he encountered arctic foxes, reindeer and ptarmigan, endured the indignities of the blizzard and experienced the bitter cold of the Highlands. An exceptional adventure which blends into the dozens of others mentioned during the festival, and which made Dijon, for a few days, the world capital of adventure.