Major events
An international cultural scope
The FESTIVAL D’AVIGNON
Founded in 1947 by Jean Vilar, the Festival d’Avignon is today one of the most important international contemporary performing arts events.
Every year in July, Avignon becomes a theatre-city, transforming its architectural heritage into various places of performance, majestic or astonishing, and welcoming tens of thousands of theatre lovers of all generations (more than 130,000 admissions).
Often on holiday and coming from far away, many spectators spend several days in Avignon in order to view some of the shows among the forty or so works of theatre, dance, as well as visual arts or music.
The Festival succeeds in creating an original alliance between a popular audience and international creation. Avignon is also a place of spirit: the city becomes an open-air forum, where festival-goers talk about shows and share their experiences as spectators. For a month, everyone can have access to a contemporary and spirited culture.
THE FESTIVAL D’AVIGNON « LE OFF »
For your information
Based around the IN festival, a more spontaneous theatrical space has been developed, “invented” in 1963 by André Benedetto.
The greatest theatre in the world
The «OFF» festival, which first drew its vigour from the spirit of 1968, continued its expansion by investing in almost 100 Places, which have sometimes been ingeniously transformed into reception spaces.
The OFF, an alternative festival, has become an indisputable reality in the national cultural landscape. It is one of the largest festivals of independent companies in the world, given this title because of the richness and diversity of its cultural offerings.
The “World’s Largest Theatre” brings together 975 companies, 1,161 shows and more than 25,000 performances.
LES HIVERNALES D’AVIGNON
Les Hivernales d’Avignon is a dance festival created by Amélie Grand. In addition to choreographic performances, it offers workshops, exhibitions, screenings, meetings and the «Forum Libre Danse» reserved for young companies. This is the No.2 event in Avignon after the Festival.
For your information
Les Hivernales are a «Centre de développement Choréraphique» (centre of choreographic development)
LES CHORÉGIES D’ORANGE
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The Chorégies d’Orange is the oldest French festival today, dating from 1869.
Over the years, the Choregies have been able to retain every ounce of their originality: from the name they bear, originating from the Greek «choreos», which thus ties them to the Greco-Latin tradition; to festival’s location each summer: the perfectly preserved Antique Theatre, with a capacity of 8600 people and which has the privilege of having kept its «Stage Wall», which guarantees exceptional acoustics; as well as the lyrical and musical vocation that they have given themselves and that allows them to be at the head of the major French festivals, coupled with their undeniable international reputation.
THE LACOSTE FESTIVAL
Created by Pierre Cardin twelve years ago in the unusual, surprising and unforgettable location of the quarries of the castle of the Marquis de Sade, this festival dedicated to theatre and opera offers the public a chance to discover young singers at the dawn of a promising career, but also an introduction to opera.
LES CHORALIES DE VAISON LA ROMAINE
Did you know?
The first festival took place in 1953.
A festival that takes place every three years, ‘Les Choralies’ is a choral festival that brings together nearly 5,000 singers and musicians, amateurs and professionals.
Frames Festival
The Frames Festival is an Avignon-based festival whose theme is video creation on Youtube. FRAMES Video Festival is above all a story of encounters between video enthusiasts.
Passionate about videos, passionate about culture and especially passionate about the wealth of the world around us. The Frames Festival is unique to France
Webtoon international meetings
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The two days of the festival are dedicated to professional meetings with presentations, round tables and networking. Participants come from all over Europe and other countries (China, Japan, Korea, Canada, etc.)
The first festival dedicated to Webtoon in Europe, established in 2022 in Monteux, has already become an essential event in the Vaucluse creative ecosystem. The growing interest in webtoon in all cultural and creative industries (publishing, audiovisual, animation, video games, computer solutions, training, translation, monetisation, etc.) was a starting point for the establish of this festival to share know-how, experiences and analysis.
The Insane Festival
In Apt – Luberon
The Insane Festival, since 2018 in the Luberon, is now an unmissable event in the south of France. Every year, it brings together several tens of thousands of festival-goers for four days with artists from the electro scene.
Did you know?
The Insane organises on the fringe of the festival, blood donation drives and cigarette butt collection sessions in Apt!
L’Odyssée sonore
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This immersive experience lasting 45 minutes can accommodate up to 250 spectators simultaneously on a surface of 5000m².
The Sound Odyssey is a multi-sensory adventure in the heart of the Ancient Theatre of Orange, an iconic venue steeped in two millennia of history. Spectators are guided by mesmerising sounds and striking images transporting them through a universe populated by deities and mythological figures. This is the first video mapping facility generated by artificial intelligence.
Film Festivals
Les Rencontres cinématographiques de Cavaillon: four days of screenings of short/feature films, meetings and interviews between film professionals and the public
Court c’est court: A short film festival created in 1993 that offers a programme for young people and adults
Festival des Cinémas d’Afrique du Pays d’Apt: The Festival screens films, often unseen
and little distributed in France, whose directors come from the African continent or the diaspora.
Les Rencontres du Sud: A five-day festival that brings together lovers of the Seventh Art around previews, film teams, workshops with general public and school sessions
Carpentras fait son Cinema: For four days, Carpentras is transformed into a movie set, as part of a large short film competition.
The SCAD Lacoste Film Festival: A festival that promotes the Seventh Art and TV series
Luberon Film Festival: The International Film Festival in Pertuis with its Golden Lavender Trophy
The Israeli Film Festival: A festival that comes every year to Carpentras with screenings followed by debates with directors or actors.