the essential
Originally from Montrozier, Cyril Kamir is a therapeutic coordinator specializing in addictions. But his real passion is fishing, which he discovered as a child on the banks of the Aveyron. A hobby that he practices assiduously and on which he makes documentary films. Encounter.
“Aragon is the El Dorado for fly fishermen, on the other side of the Pyrenees. This is the territory of Iberian carp and bullheads. » The tone is set, from the first seconds of the documentary film “¡Aragón!” » directed by Cyril Kamir and broadcast this Thursday, November 14 on the Seasons channel. “Fun fishing” in the middle of magnificent landscapes, with your feet in the water of the lakes and rivers of this Spanish province.
How was this documentary film project about fly fishing in Aragon born?
It's a project that I've had for around ten years. At that time, I went fishing in Béarn, near Oloron-Sainte-Marie, with my friend Fabrice Boucher, who is a fishing guide. But the weather was so bad that he offered to take me to the other side of the Pyrenees, to Aragon. And there, it was extraordinary!
One of the decisions to shoot this film is also that the change of scenery is total, that we can fish for species in a way that we are not used to in France and that the budget remains completely correct for a trip fishing…
So I had this project which was finally accepted by Canal + for its Seasons channel. And we went fishing there, last May, with my friends Baptiste Conquet, based in Espalion, who is a fly fishing guide in Aveyron and Argentina, and Grégory Crema, also a fisherman and who makes flies on the from Chamonix, in the Alps.
On the rivers and lakes of Aragon, you practiced two very different types of fishing… Sight carp and dry Iberian bullhead.
Carp is very special. We really fish it in a unique way, on the shoals, where we have a foothold and where the water which has risen floods the meadows which overlook the lakes. Carp feed on insects that live in meadows, and many small crayfish. We sight fish by moving very slowly in the water. And when we see one, we shoot it. It's super fun, it's more hunting than fishing. As for the Iberian barbel, it is a more sporty type of fishing. You really have to go get it… And of course, we put all the fish back in the water.
How do you prepare a documentary film lasting almost an hour?
Writing the script takes about a week, after doing location scouting. Then, it takes time to get to the location for filming, which lasts a week. Then it's editing for six to seven days from morning to evening, it's quite intensive. Because the more you shoot, the more images you have to select.
Isn't this your first documentary?
This is my eighth. I started eight years ago. I make one a year. And here I am currently writing the next one which I will present on November 15.
