edito

Next January, Festival Parallèle is coming back to us.

As a yearly meeting between artists of the new generation and curious viewers, it is a space of hospitality, which echoes in various ways; a space for sharing resources – be it intellectual, sensitive, symbolic -, where different views of the world meet; an inclusive community, where contradiction is possible, where viewpoints differ.

Parallèle is a stimulating crossing, a set of dynamics through which viewers travel, in an active and involved way.

Coming from various horizons, with their eyes and ears wide open, the programmed artists set in motion the way they perceive the world, with their bodies as amplifiers, a place of language and a source of actions. They bring themselves into play, risk instability, and speak to us.
By creating new languages, the artists open the realm of possibilities. In their radical way, they speak to our intelligence.
Because it is indeed thanks to the radicalness of their forms that they take us along: straightforward stances, outside usual and predictable representations, are necessary to open new perspectives. We want that kind of radicalness that invites us to welcome the unexpected, what is new, heterogeneous, foreign "like a gift that increases our resources and our power to act". *

Parallèle 8 is first of all a theatre, dance and performance programme hosted by essential partners.
Parallèle is also: a photo exhibition in collaboration with École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie in Arles; a screening of short films directed by filmmakers from the new generation, in partnership with FIDMarseille, artistic workshops for children; professional meetings between artists and programmers.

This year, Parallèle is also a critical eye workshop with secondary school and higher education students. Led by professional journalists, it will give rise to a "Gazette Parallèle" and a public feedback session, on the last day of the festival.
We are convinced that contemporary forms are meant for us: as an exploration of sensitive and poetic languages to talk about the world today, which they make easier to grasp. Connecting to one’s sensitivity, welcoming the space of emptiness and silence, greeting one’s emotions, developing tools to share them, accepting dialogue and contradiction, are key challenges.
We want to encourage, with our means and tools, these young people to feel free to create a society which they will want, which they will be responsible for, and which we don’t know anything about. 

Parallèle is an attempt to answer in a non-comprehensive way the question: “what is the world made up of?”, so let’s prick up our ears, open our eyes, let’s join together in this initiative! 

I would like to thank Dominique Bluzet, Francesca Poloniato, Pierrette Monticelli and Haïm Menahem, Hubert Colas, Catherine Verrier, Pascal Neveux, Jean-François Chougnet, Yves Millo, Vincent Tuset-Anrès, Damien Bouticourt, Linda Mekboul, Anne Jeannes, Didier Abadie, and their teams for opening wide the doors of their venues to “new generation” artists coming from more or less remote countries, so the festival can take place.

A warm thank you to all the partners of this edition who are involved in this fragile and powerful adventure!

Festival Parallèle could not exist without the financial support of Département des Bouche-du-Rhône, Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the City of Marseille.

We would like to thank them for their trust. 

Lou Colombani

"Culture never takes power, it only gives it, it is not a source of profits, but it increases the imaginary resources of all and fuels the emancipating energies of each and every one."*

*Marie-José Mondzain, Confiscation des mots, des images et du temps - pour une autre radicalité