The International Art Books and Films Festival (in French, Festival International du Livre d'Art et du Film) or FILAF, is an international festival about artbooks and films which takes place annually in Perpignan (South of France) since 2011. Its goal is to promote and award the best books and films about art produced each year in the world.
Noting the world absence of a real event only focused on art books, and similarly on the field of art films, the Cogito Organization and its president Sébastien Planas created the International Artbooks and Films Festival in Perpignan. The first edition took place in June 2011[1]
The aim of the festival is to present to the general public a selection of the best books and films on art published or produced during the past year on an international scale. Authors, editors, directors, producers and selected artists are invited to Perpignan to present their work. A week of conferences, screenings, readings, signatures, workshops for children, professional round tables, thematic evenings, allows the world of art to meet and present its most important productions.[2]
The FILAF festival relies on a scientific professional committee, recognized in each of their disciplines, responsible for selection throughout the year. It also mobilizes an annually renewed jury which, at the end of the festival, awards the Gold FILAF, the Silver FILAF and the Special Jury Prize (categories "book" and « film »).[3]
In 2016, the FILAF festival created a new prize in collaboration with French Art Fair Galeristes, to reward the best art book published by an art gallery.[4]
Scientific committee
From 2011 to 2016
Xavier Canonne (Director, Museum of Photography in Charleroi)
Best African artbook : African Lace, a history of trade, creativity and fashion in Nigeria by Nath Mayo Adediran and Barbara Plankensteiner, Snoeck, Austria, 2010
Best architecture book : CCCP - Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed by Frédéric Chaubin, Taschen, Germany / France, 2011
Best modern art book : Gérard Gasiorowski - Recommencer, commencer de nouveau la peinture by Thomas West, Frédéric Bonnet, Éric Mangion, Laurent Manœuvre and Erik Verhagen, Hajte Cantz, France / Germany, 2010
Best contemporary art book : Monographie de Bernard Dufour by Fabrice Hergott, de la Différence, France, 2010
Best fine art book : Jacob Van Loo, 1614-1670 by David Mandrella, Arthena, France, 2011
Best book about an art collection : Art and Activism : Projects of John and Dominique de Menil by Laureen Schipsi and Josef Helfenstein, Laureen Schipsi & Josef Helfenstein / The Menil Collection, USA, 2010
Best artbook about the 19th Century : Jean-Léon Gerôme by Laurence des Cars, Édouard Papet and Dominique de Font-Réaulx, Skira / Flammarion, USA / France, 2010
Best photography book : Fénautrigues by Jean-Luc Moulène and Marc Touitou, La Table Ronde, France, 2010
Best book about cinema : Opération Dragon de Robert Clouse by Bernard Benoliel, Yellow Now, Belgium, 2010
Best design book : Campana Brothers, Complete Works (So Far) by Darrin Alfred, Deyan Sudjic, Li Edelkoort, Stephan Hamel and Cathy Lang Hö, Rizzoli / Albion, USA, 2010
Best artbook for youth : Animaux à mimer by Alexandre Rodtchenko and Serguei Mikhaïlovitch Tretiakov, Memo, Russia / France, 2010
"Grand Prix du jury" : African Lace, a history of trade, creativity and fashion in Nigeria by Nath Mayo Adediran and Barbara Plankensteiner, Snoeck, 2010, Austria
2012
Books
Golden FILAF : Scrapbook - Gilles Caron by Marianne Caron-Montely, Lienart, France, 2012
Silver FILAF : Saul Bass : A Life in Film & Design by Pat Kirkham and Jennifer Bass, Laurence King Publishing, England, 2011
Special Jury Prize : Fritz Lang au travail by Bernard Eisenschitz, Phaïdon, Austria, 2011
Films
Golden FILAF : Mendelsohn’s incessant visions by Duki Dror, 71 min, 2011 (Germany / Israel), prod. : Zigote Films[26]
Silver FILAF : Marina Abramovic, the artist is present by Matthew Akers, 1h46, 2012 (USA), prod. : Show of Force / HBO / MoMA
Golden FILAF ex-æquo : Sol LeWitt by Chris Teerink, 72 min, 2012 (Netherlands), coprod. : Doc.eye.film / AVRO télévision
Silver FILAF : Dalí, génie tragi-comique by François et Stéphan Lévy-Kuentz, 52 min, 2012 (France), prod. : INA / Centre Georges Pompidou / AVRO / France 5 / RTBF / RAI educational / SBS
Special Jury Prize : Hélio Oiticica by Cesar Oiticica Filho, 94 min, 2012 (Brasil), prod. Guerrilha Filmes
2014
Books
Golden FILAF : Guy de Cointet by Frédéric Paul, Flammarion, France
Silver FILAF : Peter Zumthor Buildings & Projects, 1985-2013 by Thomas Durisch and Peter Zumthor, Scheidegger et Spiess editions
Special Jury Prize : Lalibela : capitale de l'art monolithe d'Éthiopie by Claude Lepage and Jacques Mercier, Picard editions, France
Golden FILAF : Tarr Béla, I used to be a filmmaker by Jean-Marc Lamoure, prod. MPM Film
Silver FILAF : The Great Museum by Johannes Holzhausen, prod. Navigator Film
Special Jury Prize : Haus Tugendhat by Dieter Reifarth, prod. Strandfilm et Pandora Film
2015
Books
Golden FILAF : African modernism, The Architecture of Independence. Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Zambia by Manuel Herz, Park Books, Swiss, 2015
Silver FILAF : Earthquakes, Mudslides, Fires & Riots: California & Graphic Design, 1936-1986 by Louise Sandhaus, Metropolis Books, USA, 2015
Special Jury Prize : L'Industrie d'art romaine tardive by Alois Riegl, Christopher S. Wood and Emmanuel Alloa, Macula, France, 2014
Films
Golden FILAF : Paul Sharits by François Miron, 85’, 2015 (Canada), prod : Filmgrafix Production
Silver FILAF : ART WAR by Marco Wilms, 90’, 2014 (Germany), prod : Heldenfilm / ZDF / Arte / MFG Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg
Special Jury Prize : Sobre la marxa by Jordi Morató 77’, 2014 (Spain), prod : La Termita Films / Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Golden FILAF : Intimate Geometries: The Art and Life of Louise Bourgeois de Robert Storr, by Monacelli Press, United States, 2016
Silver FILAF : Après Babel, traduire by Barbara Cassin, Actes Sud / MuCEM, France, 2016
Special Jury Prize : Cedric Price Works 1952 - 2003 : A Forward-Minded Retrospective by Samantha Hardingham, Architectural Association Publications / Canadian Centre for Architecture, Angleterre / Canada, 2016
Best youth art book : Why is Art Full of Naked People? : And other vital questions about art by Susie Hodge, Thames & Hudson, England, 2016
Best book about art theory : Reset Modernity ! by Bruno Latour and Christophe Leclercq, Mit Press, United States, 2016
Best photographic book : Zone de sécurité temporaire by Anne-Marie Filaire, Textuel, France, 2017
Best fine art book : Les frères Le Nain, d'après les écrits de Jacques Thuillier by Serge Lemoine, Faton, France, 2016
Best architecture book : Residential Towers by Annette Gigon, Guyer Mike, Felix Jerusalem, GTA, Switzerland, 2016
Best graphism book : Histoire de l'écriture typographique, le XXè siècle (2 volumes) dir. Jacques André, Perrousseaux Atelier, France, 2016
Best contemporary art book : Intimate Geometries: The Art and Life of Louise Bourgeois by Robert Storr, The Monacelli Press, United States, 2016
Best modern art book : William N. Copley by Germano Celant, Fondazione Prada, The Menil Collection, Italy / United States, 2016
Price of the youth book médiathèque of Perpignan : Draw Like an Artist: A Self-Portrait Sketchbook by Patricia Geis, Princeton Architectural Press, United States, 2016
Films
Golden FILAF : Where is Rocky II ? by Pierre Bismuth (FR - ALL - IT - BELG), 93 min, 2016. Prod. : The Ink Connection / Vandertastic / Frakas Productions / In Between Art Film / Vivo Film
Silver FILAF : Cinema Novo by Eryk Rocha (BR), 92 min, 2016. Prod. : Coqueirao Pictures / Aruac Filmes / Canal Brasil / FM Produçoes
Special Jury Prize : Exprmntl by Brecht Debackere (BEL), 68 min, 2016. Prod. : Visualantics Production / Cinematek / RTBF / Canvas
Best contemporary art book : Le monde de Topor by Laurence Engel, Frédéric Pagak and alli., Les cahiers dessinés, France, 2017
Best modern art book : Philip Guston : Nixon Drawings. 1971 & 1975 by Musa Mayer and Debra Bricker Balken, Hauser & Wirth, Switzerland, 2017
Best primitive arts book : Maternité. Mères et enfants dans les arts d’Afrique by Herbert M. Cole, Fonds Mercator, Belgium, 2017
Best music book : Ni noires, ni blanches : Histoire des musiques créoles, by Bertrand Dicale, éditions La Rue Musicale, France, 2017
Best culinary arts : Kalamata : La cuisine, la famille et la Grèce by Martin Bruno and Julia Sammut, Editions Keribus, 2017
This prize was created in association with Maison Sales, Végétaux d'Art Culinaire.
Prize of the youth book of the médiathèque de Perpignan : 5 maisons by Dominique Ehrhard, Les grandes personnes, France, 2017
Movies
Golden FILAF : Moriyama-San by Louise Lemoine and Ila Bêka, 2017, 107' (FR). Prod. : Bêka & Partners
Silver FILAF: Beuys by Andres Veil, 2017, 107’ (DE). Prod. : Zero one film in co-production, Terz Filmproduktion, SWR/ARTE, WDR
Special jury prize: Une poétique de l'habiter by Caroline Alder and Damien Faure, 2018, 60' (FR). Prod. : Caroline Alder and Damien Faure. Film shown in world premiere.
2019
Books
Golden FÌLAF: The birth of a Style Alteration Video, Fosbury Architecture Humboldt Books, Italie, 2018
Silver FILAF: Jean-Jacques Lequeu : bâtisseur de fantasmes, L. Baridon, J-P Garric et alli. Norma / BnF, France, 2018
Special jury prize: Pascale Ogier, Ma soeur, E. Nicolas, Filigranes Editions, France, 2018
Youth category and Library Prize: Art'Bracadabra, découverte des ingrédients magiques de l'oeuvre d'art, R. Garnier, Amaterra / Centre Pompidou, France, 2018
Cinema category: Zones de guerre, J. Saab, E. Sanbar, E. Adnan, editions de l'Oeil, France, 2018
Photography category: The map and the territory, L. Ghirri, Mack Books, Allemagne, 2018.
Food category: Manger à l'oeil, edition de l'Épure / Mucem, France, 2019
Fine Arts category: Bruegel, Bill Traylor, V. Rousseau, D. Purden, 5 continents, Italie, 2018
Architecture category: Group Ludic. L'imagination au pouvoir, X. de la Salle, D. Roditi, S. Koszel, Facteur Humain, Belgique, 2019
Musique category: Art & Vinyl: a visual record, J. Fraenkel, A. De Beaupré. Fraenkel Gallery / éditions Antoine de Beaupré, USA / France, 2018
Contemporary art category: Isidore Isou, F. Acquaviva, Edition du Griffon, Suisse 2019
Primitive Arts category: Galerie Pigralle. Afrique, Océanie, 1930. Une exposition mythique, C-W. Hourdé, N. Rollan. Somogy Editions d'Art, France, 2018
Films
Golden FILAF: That Cloud Never Left, Yashaswini Raghunandan, India, 2019, 65'. Prod: Namita Waiker, P.Sainath, Yashaswini Raghunandan
Silver FILAF: Le Premier mouvement de l'immobile, Sebastiano d'Ayala Valva, France, Italy, 2018, 81'. Pro/diff: le films de la Butte, Ideacinama, Arte Geie, Radio France
Special jury prize: Delphine et Carole Insoumuses, Callisto Mc Nulty, France, Switzerland, 2018, 68'. Prod: les films de la butte
Special jury prize: Creation from the obscure, Tomoya Use, Japan, 2018, 59'. Pro: Nozomu Makino, Shinichi Ise, Hiroaki Fukushima, Toshihide Yabuki
2020
Books
Golden FILAF: Alternative Histories, Marius Grootveld, Jantje Engels, Guus Kaandorp, Thomas Dank, Mathias Clottu, ed. Drawing Matter, 2019
Silver FILAF: Journal d'un maître d'école. Le film, un livre, Vittorio de Seta, Federico Rossin, ed. Arachnéen, 2019
Special jury prize: Nathalie Parain, Michèle Cochet, Michel Defourny and Claude-Anne Parmegiani, ed. MéMO, 2019
Contemporary art category: Elizabeth Peyton: aire and angels, Elizabeth Peyton, Jules Esteves, Lucy Dahlsen, ed. National Portrait Gallery, London, 2019
Fine arts category: Black in Rembrandt's time, Elmer Kolfin and Epco Runia, ed. W. BOOKS, 2020
Primitive arts category: Striking Iron: the art of African blacksmiths, gathering of 18 authors, ed. Fowler Museum at UCLA, LA, 2020
Music category: Jim Marshall: show me the picture - images and stories from a photography legend, Amelia Davis, ed. Chronicle Books, 2019
Modern art category : object of desire - surrealism and design : 1924 - today, Mateo Kries, ed. Vitra Design Museum, 2019
Films
Golden FILAF: Etre Jérôme Bel, Sima Khatami et Aldo Lee, 2019, 79'
Silver FILAF: Palimpsest of the Africa museum, Matthias De Groof, 2019, 69'
Special jury prize: The Poposal, Jill Magid, 2019, 83'
In 2016, the festival created the FILAF Artbook Fair. The first edition of this show was held from the 24th to 26 June 2016 in the Dominican church in Perpignan.
The FILAF Artbook Fair is a real meeting place for publishers and the general public. It offers an unprecedented panorama of contemporary editorial practices linking art and print: a book on art, a book of art, multiples, fanzines, catalogs, posters and unpublished projects.
The fair is a place of experimentation and freedom. Conferences, performances, signatures, readings, debates punctuate this new meeting in the presence of artists, public collection managers, printers, collectors, publishers, graphic designers and booksellers.
Publications: filaf annual review
filaf annual is an annual magazine about artbooks and films. Richly illustrated, it develops an exploration of art through the prism of books and films. Starting from the attention paid by artists, historians, curators and the general public, the review is constructed as a representation of the mechanisms of production and the reception of these. Because in quantity as in quality, we know infinitely more works of art through our library and films than by their direct attendance. The world of art lives by the mechanism of the representation of art and by its actors and commentators. Deconstructing the ambiguous and fascinating link between art and modes of representation of art, the journal develops an approach to the history and actuality of books and films on the scholarly and in-depth art.
The journal consists in a selection of articles, interviews and original portfolios. At a time when the book becomes an instrument of determining power for artists, making or undoing careers, playing a significant economic role in exhibitions, remaining an unparalleled object of knowledge, the review witnesses its deep issues.
At a time when movies, television and the internet are producing video streaming and films that build the common representation of art, the magazine seeks to deconstruct the issues of the animated image dealing with art: Why? How? Who? Looking mainly at the margins of an international production sometimes formatted, it reflects the many and superb efforts that filmmakers still make to make sense to works of art.
filaf annual develops well-founded choices in the face of the worldwide production of books and films on art. It relies on critics, publishers, historians, professionals in the field and partners forming a drafting committee. The review presents a rigorous and informed selection.
Continuing its effort in favor of the written word, the FILAF inaugurated in June 2014, during the fourth edition of the festival, a space that is both gallery and art bookstore. Open year-round, it completes the regional offer by presenting temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. It invites selected artists to produce works combining literature, cinema and drawing. Through exhibitions, artist residencies and the production of associated micro-editions, the FILAF Gallery seeks to highlight the closed links that living artists have with literature and cinema. As exhibitions evolve, the exploration of a universe is constructed.
Continuing its effort in favor of writing, the bookstore offers magazines such as Artpress, The British Journal of Photography, ArtReview, Artforum, The Drawer, The Plat, Tapas or Etudes Photographiques.
The FILAF / Galeristes Award
In 2016, the Filaf inaugurated the Filaf / Galeristes Prize, an award celebrating the best art book published by an art gallery. The event takes place during Galeristes, a contemporary art fair created in 2016 by French curator Stéphane Corréard. It has since its inception rewarded five books.
2017, «Re/productions» by Cyril Zarcone, published by Galerie Éric Mouchet.
2018, «Les Travaux et les jours» by Hélène Delprat, co-published by Éditions Dilecta & Galerie Christophe Gaillard, ex-aequo with «Cathryn Boch», Galerie Papillon.
