The 15th Images of the Beyond festival took place on November 23, 24, and 25 at the Béraire space in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin.
On the first day, schoolchildren from the town visited the photo, bio, and French championship exhibitions accompanied by the festival’s team of biologists. They encountered unexpected species: multicolored slugs, garden eels, and cleaner shrimp. The children discovered unusual aquatic activities such as pool sport diving. The visit continued with a video screening and a mini-conference on the ‘funny’ species present in Lembeh. In the afternoon, François Sarano captivated the young audience with stories of his adventures with « the great white shark and the very small man » and his friend « Eliot the sperm whale ».
In the evening, François Sarano led a conference-debate on the giants of the seas (sperm whales, great white sharks, whales…). The audience asked many questions about the former scientific advisor to Commandant Cousteau. He was able to present the association Longitude 181 and its current campaign: « No Shark on My Plate ».
Saturday morning was dedicated to the photo and video review by the jury members: François Sarano, Vincent Maran, and Florian Bernier. Two new themes were present this year: macro photo and sport photo. The prize-giving ceremony took place on Saturday evening. The audience (divers and non-divers) refreshed their knowledge thanks to the slideshow prepared by Vincent Maran (biologist, founder of the DORIS website). In the second part of the evening, François Sarano presented his film Mediterranean – The Lost World of Sharks.