This is certainly not the first FIFO for Emmanuel Kasarhérou who is participating in his fourth festival, three of which were as a member of the jury. This year, the president of the Musée du Quai Branly is taking on the role of chairman of the jury.
You’re the first Oceanian chairman of the jury since 2014, how do you approach this role?
With great humility. Being chairman of the jury is a responsibility and at the same time, it feels so good to be part of the FIFO that it feels like home. I have also noticed that a large majority of the jury are Oceanians with diverse backgrounds. What interests me is to see how we will work together as a jury. With such moments of sharing something gradually resonates between these people with quite different lives, perceptions and histories. These meeting times are important because we confront one another and things. We’ll see what happens in terms of people’s feelings.
The jury is 100% Oceanian but it’s also mostly women…
I’m going to be in the minority (laughter), but I find it interesting. I’m trying not to have any preconceived ideas, what interests me is to have people with various sensitivities. We’ll see if the fact that the majority of them are women will lead to certain types of films, themes, ways of approaching things… It’s quite stimulating, ultimately.
Last year the FIFO was limited to digital, this year it is hybrid…
It’s very impressive of the organisation to go ahead with the festival against all odds, but also to know how to innovate by using new technologies to exist differently. I give credit to the teams for having succeeded in organizing the festival despite everything, I take my hat off to them! One positive about COVID is that the FIFO has largely become delocalized. This allows more people in New Caledonia, for example, to take advantage of this event that does not exist there. And therefore, to have access to this wealth of Oceanic production. This is an important new dimension.
The link between the Musée du Quai Branly and the FIFO is nothing new. Stéphane Martin, the former president of the Musée du Quai Branly, was also chairman of the jury. Now it’s your turn. Does this link continue?
Yes, because the Musée du Quai Branly covers four continents, including Oceania. The FIFO provides a contemporary outlook using Oceanian expression. Quai Branly needs to be present on the jury, and this is a great responsibility, but also to be invited because it enables us to keep an eye on the region and to nourish this strong relationship. The Musée du Quai Branly hosts an Off-Site FIFO, and for a Parisian audience, it is important to see Oceania in a way other than through 19th-century engravings or old objects. But also, to see that this humanity is alive and approaches the issues with a form of singularity that is unique to it.
Written by Sulianne Favennec
French