What A Trip! The International Festival of Travel and Adventure Film in Montpellier

Want to escape? You are given an appointment in September 2022 in the aisles of the What A Trip, the festival of travel and adventure film.

The What A Trip (WAT, for the intimates) is a festival organized in the heart of the Montpelliéraine metropolis. Since 2017, this major film event in southern France has brought together artists, exhibitors and festival-goers around the theme of travel and the world’s opening.

On the programme: screenings of documentaries, animations, workshops, conferences, concerts... and many other surprises that rhythm an eclectic programming that is particularly dense. Next edition What A Trip will take place 21 to 25 September 2022 . We hope to meet you there!

Competitions, projections and meetings

The WAT organizes a competition allowing filmmakers and documentaries to offer about 20 travel and adventure films. Five different awards are awarded each year, rewarding particularly varied productions. All are not in the line: programme OFF honours films simply intended to share experiences and lifestyles with a passionate audience. The projections are presented in the Room Rabelais as well as in the auditorium enclosure Fabre .

The What A Trip has a special feature to complement the broadcasts by enriching encounters with the protagonists or directors. These offer interesting lighting on the shooting conditions and the many perpetia encountered. In addition, it is possible to watch the films and exchanges that follow live on the internet. Streaming Magic, very convenient when it is not possible to get to the place!

The topics discussed have in common to plunge spectators into a distant and often unknown world. Last year, among other things, this festival of travel and adventure has kept all its promises.

The audience was able to see Fly Spiti , covering the very first exploration of a Himalayan valley in paragliding, carried out by two voltige champions. Or Nuorrek , a film retracing the course of two young engineers along the ice coasts of the Finnmark.

The many festival-goers were also able to attend the spring transhumance to the south-west of Iran by a family of nomadic Bakhtiaris shepherds or follow the passage of the longest road of the world by bike, from Alaska to Patagonia. The Prices Ushuaïa TV for example, Akhdar, the salt of the desert , an immersion in the Mauritanian desert from the coast to the nomadic villages.

The village of the trip

In 2022, What A Trip puts his suitcases on the royal square of Peyrou, in front of the Arc de Triomphe. The village of the trip is truly the epicentre of this cultural event.

The heart beating the What A Trip

In fact, apart from screening sessions, this festival of urban and popular travel and adventure film is full of surprising animations.

Each evening, concerts are organized at the “P’tite stage”, transforming the esplanade into a giant dance floor. The public can recover in one of the food trucks present in a dedicated area. The opportunity to enjoy a good meal directly on site, between two activities.

In the village of What A Trip, culture is obviously honoured. An area of podcasts and the bookshop of the journey, particularly elaborate, are at the entire disposal of the festival-goers. You will find out what to drink your thirst for knowledge while exchanging with other participants.

In case of a small blow, the chill-out welcomes you throughout the festivities to enjoy a good nap with freshness. Its rest areas with tables and pallet chairs are filled with a warm atmosphere for meetings!

Exhibitions

Throughout this film festival, numerous exhibitions of photographs and travel books are presented. The public will find them in the heart of the WAT village, but also through the city of Montpellier: at Hotel Sully, for example. Today, it is occupied by the Maison des Relations Internationales. The place hosts numerous cultural events and events.

As part of the What A Trip, it is an opportunity to confront rich photographic testimonies. The highlights of the journeys thus captured are an invitation to escape, contemplation and reflection. These ephemeral exhibitions pleasantly punctuate the event of the festival, for the greatest happiness of visitors.

Conferences and workshops

The WAT organizes totally free conferences and workshops on the theme of travel and environmental preservation. The workshops allow, among other things, to learn about yoga, the language of signs or to taste the cuisine of the world. Animators give advice and tips to travel sustainably or completely survive in a hostile environment.

Creative and playful workshops are open to all festival-goers who will discover exotic craft techniques sometimes surprising. The conferences are an opportunity to exchange with authentic backpackers and adventurers who have travelled the planet.

There are also numerous associations, grouped in the "Blue Zone", a space entirely dedicated to seas and oceans. Initiatives are being put in place to explain the issues related to the conservation of the marine environment. For example, the marine institute Seaquarium anime continuous tray games, colors, puzzles.

We will also find the Permanent Centre for Environmental Initiatives (CPIE) of the Thau Basin or the Marine Protected Areas of the Agathian Coast, local associations. They ensure the holding of an information booth on various actions to protect marine diversity: photo boards, flyers, models...

Zero waste or participatory science workshops related to environmental awareness are also organized. Ocean Fresque , Surfrider or the collective action of scientists Ailerons , associations engaged, also participate in this virtuous approach.

Moreover, as a committed festival, the WAT is adhering to the movement 1% for the Planet . In particular, it pays 1% of its ticketing revenues to associations working for the protection of the environment. Finally, the What A Trip carries out numerous animations for a school audience in partnership with the National Education.

The travel lounge

The village of the What A Trip festival welcomes a trade fair that allows many companies to promote their commercial concept on the theme of travel to the public. Exhibitors, equipment manufacturers, agencies, insurers, booksellers, craftsmen...

Here is among the official partners the mutual health Hey. , offering insurance for students abroad. We can also find Cewe , photography specialist, Chilowé , creator of adventures, or Satoriz , a chain of organic groceries.

More generally, the travel fair welcomes many sustainable tourism actors: companies, public interest associations or media. You will have understood it: feast, yes, but be responsible, first!