The Rex cinema in Luchon is offering a rich programme for the start of the 2025 season with its ciné-rencontres. This season promises to be a memorable one, with engaging documentaries, discussions with directors and audiovisual discoveries. Located on rue Baron de Lassus Nestier, this cultural institution in the Haut-Garonne Pyrenees is a veritable laboratory of ideas and human encounters.
The October 2025 programme is based around four major events, each offering a different approach to documentary cinema and cultural exchange. From societal issues to environmental challenges and the preservation of pastoral traditions, the Rex cinema is becoming a privileged place for dialogue between works of art and the public.
Toute la programmationOn Wednesday 2 October at 8pm, the Rex cinema will be hosting the second season of the“Histoires & Crapahutes” travelling festival. This unique event offers a three-hour evening devoted to human adventures set against a backdrop of hiking. Five short films make up this exceptional programme, each exploring universal themes: resilience, encounters, surpassing oneself and roaming.
On the programme for this 2025 season: “Equateur Phénix” (52 minutes), “Rencontres asturiennes” (21 minutes), “Estampe d’une aventure” (22 minutes), “Marcher la France” (23 minutes) and “Uapiskha” (27 minutes). These films take viewers from Canada to Ecuador, via France, Nepal and Spain, offering a cinematic journey rich in emotion.
One of the festival’s creators will be on hand to host the evening and chat with the audience. This participatory dimension makes each screening a unique moment, where travel stories are shared and inspire new adventures.
On Saturday 4 October at 8.30pm, watch the screening of“Bergers d’Aure: la transhumance en héritage“, a documentary by Bernard Lataste. This 60-minute film, made during the summer of 2024, plunges us into the world of transhumance in the Pyrenees, an ancestral pastoral practice that perpetuates a way of life and traditional skills.
The film follows François Cascarra and his nephew Laurent Périssé, from the Vallée d’Aure to the high summer pastures of Rioumajou. Their relationship, built around a shared passion for the mountains and the sheep, is a magnificent illustration of the intergenerational transmission of this cultural and social heritage. The documentary also looks at the contemporary challenges facing traditional livestock farming and the uncertain future of these age-old practices.
The screening will take place in the presence of the film’s director, Bernard Lataste, giving the audience an opportunity to explore the issues raised by the film in greater depth. Themes such as pastoralism, the preservation of traditions and the evolution of rural lifestyles will be at the heart of the discussions.
On Tuesday 7 October at 8.30pm, the Rex cinema will be screening“Coexistencia: on the trail of the pumas“. This documentary explores the complex relationship between man and wildlife, questioning how we live together with large predators. Through the behavioural study of pumas, the film questions our representations of nature and the challenges of conservation.
This screening is in keeping with the environmental issues that run through this season’s programme. Between the protection of biodiversity and the evolution of territories, “Coexistencia” offers a reflection on our relationship with living things and the challenges of coexistence posed by the increasing anthropisation of natural spaces.
To round off this rich programme, on Wednesday 9 October at 8.30pm there will be a screening of Vincent Verzat’s“Le vivant qui se défend“. This 90-minute documentary traces the personal journey of the youtuber behind the “Partager c’est Sympa” channel (310,000 subscribers), who has been filming environmental campaigns for a decade.
After a period of militant exhaustion, Vincent Verzat turned to naturalism and tracking, seeking a balance between combat and contemplation. The film makes the link between wild animals and the struggles being waged across France against the destruction of their habitats. From the forest battles on the Millevaches plateau to the deer in the Vercors, from the mega-basins in Poitou to the A69 motorway, this documentary traces a path to “live with dignity and face what’s to come”.
This screening has a particular resonance in the Pyrenees, an area where the challenges of environmental conservation and sustainable development are a daily reality. Vincent Verzat’s sensitive and personal approach offers a fresh perspective on contemporary ecological commitment.
From November 2025 to May 2026, Luchonnais audiences will be able to discover or rediscover eight masterpieces broadcast live from the famous London stage. The programme will include such must-sees as Tosca, La Traviata and The Magic Flute, alongside such legendary ballets as The Nutcracker, Giselle and La Fille mal gardée. This high-flying cultural programme is a perfect illustration of the wealth of artistic talent on offer in the Pyrenees, enabling valley residents and visitors alike to experience moments of intense emotion without leaving their mountain home. It’s a great way to combine world-renowned opera with local culture, in the unique setting of the Luchon spa.
