Archives et cinéma

The Departmental Archives of Puy-de-Dôme offer an “Archives and Cinema” program around the industrial heritage of the territories of Ambert Livradois-Forez.

In the grass of the three valleys, by Christian Richard (1955, 16 min.), music and voice by Eric Desgrugillers (2023).

In 2023, the Society of Friends of Henri Pourrat donated a batch of 16mm films. from the 1950s made by Christian Richard in his native country of Ambert. These high-quality amateur films made him a director for the ORTF. Among these, In the Grass of the Three Valleys follows the daily life of the papermakers at the Richard-de-Bas mill. Seven decades later, Eric Desgrugillers (AMTA) lends his voice to the original script and accompanies the stationery gesture with music inspired by the local repertoire.

As part of the Voix & Patrimoines festival, the Departmental Council and the communities of communes of Ambert Livradois-Forez, Billom community and Thiers Dore et Montagne carried out a vast educational project entitled "La MécaChorale" during the school year. Singing, percussion and photography were highlighted to promote the local industrial heritage. This project was built with the polyphonic ensemble “Les Mécanos” and two Puydômois photographers Marielsa Niels and Henri Derus.

Marielsa Niels worked with 4th grade classes and their Visual Arts teachers from the Billom, Olliergues and Puy-Guillaume colleges, whose History program addresses the industrial revolution of the 2th century. The first part of the exhibition devotes the artistic work of these three classes who visited a factory in their respective territory (Usine Pottier in Billom, also a center of resistance during the Second World War, the Giroux paper mills in Giroux-gare, the OI France glassworks in Puy-Guillaume). 3 different approaches guided the artistic creation (heritage - memory of place in Billom / the workers - memory of work in Olliergues / the shadow and the spirit of man - worker memory in Puy-Guillaume).

Henri Derus is a witness to the "La MécaChorale" project through his transversal photographic look at the speakers and actors of the 3 workshops "MécaChorale", "MécaPercu" and "MécaPhoto" of the project: choir of the Puy-guillaume and Olliergues colleges , young percussionists from the Billom music school and young visually impaired adults from the ESAT in Eglisneuve near Billom and of course the middle school students from the 3 4th grade classes. His photos are the second part of the exhibition.

• Screening / Cinema projection
• Exhibition
• Conference / Debate / Meeting

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