All puppets meet at Charleville-Mézières
Charleville-Mézières in the east of France, midway between Paris and Brussels, is mainly famous for being the native city of poet Arthur Rimbaud, "the man with soles of wind" (1854-1891). Since 1961, the city has also become famous for its international puppet festival, the top event for professionals and amateurs, which now hosts over 150 companies from all five continents every three years.
Close on the heels of this success, in 1981, came the Institut International de la Marionnette and its national college (ESNAM), which trains around twenty French and foreign students over three years, leading to an internationally recognised state diploma. The capital of the Champagne-Ardennes region has thus become the meeting point for an art that speaks to the entire world, the artistry of which might have moved the poet of the "Illuminations".
www.festival-marionnette.com
Mélina Gazsi Journalist
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