Every August, the small Ardèche village of Lussas becomes the crossroads of documentary cinema. The États généraux du film documentaire offers a week of non-competitive screenings, meetings and debates, combining international perspectives and conviviality in the heart of the region, with a common thread running throughout the year.
A unique festival in the Ardèche
Every year, in the heart of the Ardèche, the village of Lussas plays host to a unique documentary film festival: the États généraux du film documentaire. Founded in 1989 by enthusiasts of the genre, this festival has become an important stage for discovering the diversity and vitality of creative documentary, far removed from the usual codes of film competition.
What sets the États Généraux apart is first and foremost its spirit of openness. There are no winners or juries. The screenings are conceived as moments of exchange, where authors, audiences, professionals and the curious meet over the course of the day. The films are shown in a number of cinemas, and even in people’s homes or in the open air, giving you more opportunities to meet the work and those who made it. Over the course of a week, the festival becomes a veritable laboratory of ideas and forms, where each screening is followed by spontaneous discussions in the village square or under the covered market.
The screenings are accompanied by seminars, round tables and workshops open to all generations, as well as a rich video library. Particular attention will be paid to exploring territories that have rarely been explored, giving a voice to new perspectives, and questioning the memory of documentary and its relevance worldwide. The local ecosystem – the Maison du Doc, Tënk for post-production, young producers, schools and distribution companies – makes Lussas a lively centre for documentary creation.
Lussas and Ardèche Images
In fact, the festival is just the tip of a vast ecosystem that is run all year round by the Ardèche Images collective, an association that has been pioneering the sector since 1979.
The documentary school: learning, creating, sharing
In addition to the festival, Ardèche Images runs the Documentary School, which is nationally recognised for its initial and continuing training courses. Students and trainees are supported by industry professionals and benefit from an environment conducive to artistic experimentation. The school offers training in writing, directing and production, as well as workshops on sound documentaries. Master classes, professional meetings and writing residencies consolidate the link between training and the professional world.
Each year, the master’s programme in partnership with Grenoble Alpes University trains directors and producers, whose projects are often supported by institutions such as the CNC 1 and SCAM 2. Learning is based on practical experience, exchanges and comparing points of view, often inspired by the Ardèche region.
La Maison du doc: resource centre and living memory
Created in 1994, the Maison du Doc is the documentary resource centre of Ardèche Images. It has a video library of over 19,000 documentary films, a database of 48,000 works and a library dedicated to cinema. Professionals, students and film enthusiasts can use the centre to view films, carry out thematic research, organise screenings and debate issues. The Maison du doc plays an essential role in preserving and providing access to Europe’s French-language documentary heritage.
Local initiatives: culture and mediation
Local action is part of the DNA ofArdèche Images. Since Lussas, the association has been developing image education workshops, the Sentiers du Doc and, until 2024, the Les Toiles du doc project, which organises screenings in schools, media libraries, specialist establishments and unusual locations, facilitating encounters between the region’s inhabitants and documentary cinema. Ardèche Images supports distribution and cultural mediation throughout the Ardèche region and beyond, as well as training amateur and professional audiences.
A centre of excellence in a rural environment
This unique model brings together the various players in the documentary village at the Imaginaïre in Lussas: the Tënk 3 platform, DocMonde 4 for training and international co-production, Andana Films 5 for distribution and the FilmDoc 6 resource centre. Far from the major urban centres, the Ardèche Images centre of excellence attracts professionals and students, all committed to the development of a vibrant documentary film industry open to the world.
2025 edition of the Etats Généraux du Film Documentaire in Lussas
From 17 to 23 August 2025, the 37th edition brings together over 130 films from France, Europe and other continents, many of them accompanied by their directors.
This year, a number of seminars will explore the themes of emancipation and cooperation in documentary filmmaking. There will also be a focus on contemporary Algerian documentary cinema, providing an opportunity to hear new voices and explore narratives that are not widely disseminated elsewhere.
Tributes to innovative filmmakers – such as Chick Strand and Jean-Pierre Thorn – enrich the programme, as does the carte blanche given to Sacem 7, which promotes musical creation in documentaries. The festival has not forgotten its roots in the Ardèche region, showcasing works shot in the area and amateur creations by the local documentary school.
Lussas documentary in practice
Accessibility is a key concern: the screening venues are adapted for people with reduced mobility, the festival takes care to provide a safe space, raises awareness against discrimination and offers a programme dedicated to young audiences, as well as workshops to discover documentaries in a different way.
On the practical side, ticketing is flexible, with tailor-made packages and special prices for local residents or people with financial difficulties.
Shuttle buses run between Lussas and Lavilledieu during the festival, accessible from Montélimar station via the X74 regional bus.
A number of accommodation venues are also partnering the event, and others can be found near or around Aubenas .
The États généraux, true to their spirit of over three decades, continue to embody a place open to all forms and all voices, where the art of documentary is combined with sharing, commitment and inventiveness.
To find out more, consult the programme and all the practical information, go to the dedicated section:
Location of Lussas
Interactive map to locate Lussas in Ardèche:
- Introduction to the town of Lussas in Ardèche
- CNC, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (National Centre for Cinema and Moving Images)↗
- SCAM, Société civile des auteurs multimédia↗
- Tënk, the documentary film platform↗
- Docmonde, the project↗
- Andana films, publishing house↗
- FilmDoc, the documentary film research and information platform↗
- SACEM, Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music↗