For its second edition, the international marine world festival in Hyères is changing its name but the desire remains the same: to showcase the richness of marine life locally and internationally. Galathea will open its doors at the Casino forum in Hyères from June 1 to 4, 2017, and Dive in! is a partner of the event.
For 4 days, visitors will be able to wander among the festival stands where associations, diving centers, craftsmen, and manufacturers from the world of diving and freediving will welcome them. Photo exhibits will highlight the fauna, flora, underwater relics, and the surrounding coastline. The public will also have the opportunity to attend conferences and screenings throughout the weekend. Outdoor activities will also be offered on the sidelines of the festival: sailing trips, snorkeling excursions, diving baptisms…New features…The event, which attracted no less than 4,000 people at its first edition, aims to draw an even larger crowd. It is enriched with several new features:
– The first two days of the festival will be dedicated to young people to better acquaint them with the oceans and their biodiversity. In 2016, nearly 700 students from surrounding schools came to the Casino Forum and participated in workshops specifically organized for them.
– An exceptional exhibition will be dedicated to the great ocean adventurers who made us dream and marked history: from Jules Verne to Cousteau and the new explorers.– A new edition also means a new sponsor. This year, it is Dominique Serafini, the author and illustrator of the comic books the Cousteau team’s adventures, who will be present at the festival.
– Besides the Casino forum, the Galathea festival will this year invest in the Denis Theater, where numerous screenings for festival-goers and school groups will be presented. On Saturday afternoon, two exceptional films will be shown: Antarctica, Following the Emperor by Jérôme Bouvier and The Odyssey directed by Jérôme Salle.A highly anticipated photo and video contestOpen to all, both experts and amateurs, the photo and video contest will reward the most beautiful shots representing the underwater world and its coastline. The jury is made up of Jean-Michel Mille, underwater world photojournalist, Hervé Colombini, photojournalist co-author of a book on the aquatic world of Corsica, Massimo Giorgetta, underwater photographer who developed an artistic fashion form in the underwater world, and Karim Laïdi, ornithologist photographer.
The photo contest offers 5 categories:
– wide angle,
– macro and super macro,
– series of 3 photos: macro, ambiance, fish or theme chosen by the candidate,
– free digital composition,
– marine heritage 1 to 3 photos.
The video contest, for its part, is open to participants wishing to propose a clip (maximum 10 minutes) or a documentary (maximum 90 minutes).
Photo and video contest entries are open until May 1. Find the photo contest rules, the video contest rules, registration links, and the complete weekend program on the festival’s website: www.festival-image-hyeres.comA look back at the award-winning photos from the first edition of the festival:
Opening photo: ©Robert Hauswirth
Margot Harty