Nautilus Festival

Nautilus: The World of Submarines on Screen

In July 2025, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin hosted the first edition of Nautilus, a unique festival in Europe dedicated to submarine films. As a city historically linked to submarine construction — from the Cherbourg arsenal to the Naval Group shipyards — the Cotentin city was the natural place to host such an event celebrating the underwater adventure through cinema.

Three Emblematic Locations

The festival takes place in three prestigious sites in Cherbourg: the Jacques Perrin auditorium at the Cité de la Mer, the former construction site of the nuclear submarine Le Redoutable, now a leading maritime museum, the Le Palace cinema, and the CGR Odéon. These venues offer an exceptional setting to dive into the fascinating and mysterious world of the deep sea.

Fiction and Documentary Films

The program highlights iconic fiction films such as K19: The Widowmaker, Le Chant du Loup, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas, and Operation Petticoat, as well as fascinating documentaries about the submarines Le Morse, Le Redoutable, and Le Triomphant. Each screening is accompanied by conferences and round tables with prestigious speakers from the French Navy, DGA, Naval Group, and INA.

Tributes and Meetings

The first edition paid tribute to Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a submarine explorer who began his career in Cherbourg before exploring the seabed for Ifremer. A major round table retraced 126 years of submarine epic in Cherbourg, in partnership with French naval and audiovisual institutions. The festival is free but requires registration, making this cinematic and historical heritage accessible to all audiences.