05. Le Festival des cannes
A humorous, glamorous take on the world of cinema, celebrating nature as the star of the show. At this quirky Cannes Film Festival, it all starts behind the scenes, with large wooden panels concealing the set. Visitors first have to walk the length of these crude walls, surrounded by the purple foliage of a shade garden. In this twilight zone, it is as if the leaves mutter their impatience every time you brush past them.
Poking through the partitions here and there are cameras, reminiscent of bird-watching telescopes. Their motionless viewfinders are constantly scanning… but what are they looking at? The path continues among the tripods, under the invisible gaze of this camera fauna. Something is brewing. A palm tree looms large, bathed in sunlight – a symbol of the Cannes coast. Curiosity leads us to an opening in the wall, symbolising the notion of leaving the backstage and stepping into the spotlight.
A long red carpet unfolds on the ground. On either side of this carpet is a mirror-like body of water dotted with…Can(n)es! They form a lattice-like structure for reed beds to grow – a trademark of the marshes, also known as reed groves. Rising up among their stems are aquatic plants and horsetails, which collectively form the motif of the famous palm leaf in the centre of this pond-like installation. This mirror of skylarks, this pond full of ducks, is surrounded by a vast red theatre curtain, camouflaging the once mysterious wall. The camera lenses, now facing towards the pond, symbolically capture this moment in time. Mist rises up around the pond, muddling the reflections, which also include the stars above.
Suddenly, nature becomes cinema… but here, the roles are reversed; nature itself is the star. We, the mere extras, pass through the set before disappearing behind the red curtain – the red curtain of dreams and illusions
DESIGNERS
Founded in Paris in 2010, AC&T Paysages & Territoires is a landscape firm that designs and accompanies landscape projects of high conceptual quality, ranging from contemporary creations to historical restorations, for private commissions (estates, Relais & Châteaux hotels) and public commissions of international scope. The firm combines technical skills, aesthetic sensibility and environmental rigour to provide landscapes where emotion, usage and natural forces coexist sustainably. Its areas of focus include contemporary urban projects and architecture-landscape collaborations, testifying to its ability to work on all scales.
Thomas Secondé is a French landscape architect who graduated from the National Higher School of Landscape of Versailles (ENSP). Fascinated by the relationship between nature, form and territory, he has developed an approach to landscape that combines artistic sensitivity, understanding of natural dynamics and the technical demands of landscape design. After a variety of professional experiences in agencies and design offices, he decided to turn his vision of the profession into reality by launching his own company. In 2010, along with Anne-Cécile Freyburger, he co-founded the Paris-based firm AC&T Paysages & Territoires, devoted to design of contemporary landscapes, restoration of historic parks and gardens, and urban and landscape projects on all scales. Under his direction, the agency has distinguished itself by its integrative approach to landscape, combining contemporary creation, ecological sensitivity and attention to human uses and the memory of places. Thomas upholds a vision of landscape as a living, evolving process rather than a mere backdrop: he sees it as a space to be experienced, inhabited and brought to life.
Anne-Cécile Freyburger is associate landscape designer and co-founder of AC&T Paysages & Territoires. Her professional career combines landscaping with other aspects of wellbeing and the relationship with nature. Trained as a landscape designer, she has been contributing to the development of sensitive, committed projects, rooted in their sites’ natural and cultural contexts, since the firm was founded in 2010. Working alongside Thomas Secondé, she has taken part in a wide range of projects, from urban landscapes to historic gardens by way of prestigious private commissions. Alongside her work as a landscape designer, Anne-Cécile trained in sophrology, a mind-body technique she has been practicing since 2020. This dual expertise enriches her perception of landscape by integrating sensitive dimensions of human experience, emotion and reconnection with living things, which also nourishes the firm's approach in its search for landscapes that are inhabited, experienced and meaningful.