The Cité de la Mer will host Nautilus, the first international submarine film festival

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This is a first and unprecedented. “A fascinating world unknown to the general public,” underlines Bernard Cauvin.

The association of former submariners Friends of the Nautilus Festival, chaired by the former president of La Cité de la Mer, Bernard Cauvin, announced, Wednesday November 27, 2024on the occasion of the national submarine daythe creation of the first international submarine film festival.

“We are going to bring in actors, screenwriters, historians, scientists…”, enthuses in advance the founding father of this place which will host this cinematographic event from July 4 to 6, 2025.

60 members in three weeks

July 4 is a date symbolizing two anniversaries for the town of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (Manche), cradle of submarines. The 126 years of Morsefirst of 109 submarines built, and the 25th anniversary of the arrival of the Formidable in the dock of La Cité de la Mer. But this festival is above all the showcase of know-how and skills of the territory, through screenings of reference documentaries and famous fiction films.

The former president of the French favorite monument in 2022 has returned to service and surrounded himself with his network, built over the last decades.

In three weeks, the association has already brought together more than 60 members. And we are going to need them, because volunteers will be important for the organization of this first edition, on which we want to pull out all the stops.

For this, he relied in particular on Olivier Binst, passionate about cinema. “The project has been maturing for two years. Meetings and discussions give rise to a convergence of ideas,” confides the man who was appointed general delegate of the festival.

One of these meetings inspired her, in-depth discussions with the photographer Jean Gaumy, creator of the documentary Submarine (2006, Arte), who dived for 4 months aboard a nuclear attack submarine during a secret defense mission to the Arctic Circle.

The program revealed in the spring

Friends of the Nautilus festival and its founders will also be accompanied by actors who have shaped a large part of the industrial and social history of Cherbourg. Naval Group and the French Navy are partners, as are the City, the Urban Area and the Department.

Although the program has not yet been revealed, “it will be in the spring”, the budget allocated to this first edition is already significant and gives an idea of ​​the scale that its organizers want to give it. Between 50,000 and 100,000 euros, the exact version still to be defined.

Nautilus, festival around submarine films, from July 4 to 6, 2025 at La Cité de la Mer in Cherbourg. Contact of the association to join: [email protected].

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