In La Rochelle, Catherine Destivelle chairs the 20th edition of the International Adventure Film and Book Festival

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Now an editor, the famous mountaineer is, this year, the president of FIFAV which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

France Télévisions – Culture Editorial

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Catherine Destivelle at the festival bookstore where the publishers exhibit (France 3 Poitou-Charentes)

It is the unmissable meeting place for lovers of wide open spaces, nature and great adventures across the globe. For this new edition, the International Adventure Film and Book Festival (FIFAV) offers nearly 140 events: film screenings, workshops, exhibitions and meetings. At the festival bookstore, many authors are invited to sign their books. This is where we met Catherine Destivelle.

From mountaineering to publishing

For a dozen years, the woman who was one of the best climbers in the world in the 1980s has had a new life. Catherine Destivelle manages Editions du Mont-Blanc specializing in books on mountains and mountaineering. Which allows her to still experience her love for the peaks about which she always speaks with passion. “Mountaineering is a bit of his childhood that doesn’t want to die. We play like kids. Hey, there’s a summit, how are we going to get up there?” she says. “You have to play with your weaknesses, with your difficulties. I often say that a wall has its own characteristics. The goal is not to hurt yourself”.

The first woman to have climbed the three major north faces of the Alps alone in winter, she has since been the subject of numerous documentary films. Today, Catherine Destivelle publishes, with David Chambre and Laurent Bidot, a work entitled Once upon a time there was climbing. This comic strip recounts the great adventures which have marked this fun and sporting activity over the last three centuries.

Around sixty films screened

At FIFAV, with her experience as a publisher of beautiful books, Catherine Destivelle is in her own world. A world where adventurers from all sides (mountains, ocean, etc.) come to present a book or a documentary. Around twenty authors are invited. In one week, the festival also highlights around sixty films in competition or out of competition. For this 20e edition, FIFAV also offers to rediscover around fifteen emblematic films which have marked the festival over the last 15 years.

International adventure film and book festival, until November 19, 2023, in La Rochelle


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