Zones Portuaires
Festival of port cities' cinema
About Zones Portuaires
Created in 2015 by the association Cales Obscures in partnership with the cinema Jacques Tati, the Zones Portuaires festival is a unique cinematic event dedicated to the representation of maritime and port territories around the world. Every spring, for a week, Saint-Nazaire hosts an invited port city and offers a demanding program mixing documentaries, features, short films, and animated films, as well as meetings, exhibitions, and workshops. The festival explores the presence and influence of port cities in the imagery of heritage cinema and in contemporary creation, questioning their identity through encounters with otherness. Supported by nearly forty cultural, economic, and associative actors in the region, Zones Portuaires has established itself as a major event in the cultural life of Saint-Nazaire, reaching a wide audience and making cinematographic heritage and its most innovative expressions accessible to all. After exploring Saint-Nazaire, New York, Scandinavia, Southern Italy, Athens, Dakar, Lisbon, Beirut, and Helsinki, the festival continues its journey from port to port.
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Zones Portuaires: Cinema Along the World's Ports
Since 2015, the Zones Portuaires film festival has invited Saint-Nazaire audiences to embark on a cinematic journey to a port city around the world each year. Supported by the association Cales Obscures, founded in 2014, and born from a partnership with the cinéma Jacques Tati, this unique festival questions the cinematic representations of maritime and port territories, from a global to a local scale.
An Ambitious and Accessible Program
The festival's program is built around the invited port city and is divided into several sections: documentaries, features, short films, and animated films. It is enriched by meetings with filmmakers and cinema professionals, exhibitions, concerts, and workshops. Each edition also features a focus on a sport or cultural practice related to the port territory explored.
The festival pays particular attention to outreach and accessibility, with a school program including a middle school prize, middle and high school tracks, and Ciné-Mousses screenings organized before the festival in partner cinemas in the region.
A Journey from Port to Port
Throughout its editions, Zones Portuaires has explored the cinematographies of Saint-Nazaire, New York, the far North of Scandinavia, Southern Italy, Athens, Dakar, Lisbon, Beirut, and Helsinki. Each invited city provides an opportunity to address the social, political, geographical, human, and environmental issues of port territories through the lens of cinema.
A Festival Rooted in its Territory
Each year, Zones Portuaires takes over several emblematic venues in Saint-Nazaire and its region: the cinéma Jacques Tati, the LiFe (contemporary art space in the submarine base), the Cinéville, the cinema Le Pax in Pornichet, and La Toile de Mer. The LiFe serves as the festival's hub, offering a friendly space with a bar, food, exhibitions, and the on-site bookstore L'Oiseau Tempête. The festival is supported or co-organized by nearly forty cultural, economic, and associative players in the region.
Zones Portuaires — edition 2026
The 11th edition of the Zones Portuaires festival will take place from May 5 to 10, 2026, in Saint-Nazaire, with the ports of Ireland as the destination. Dublin, Belfast, Cork, and Galway will be at the heart of a program that will address the social, political, geographical, human, and environmental issues of this maritime territory through Irish cinema. The festival will offer a journey across the island through its ports and films, questioning the major fault lines that run through it.
11th Edition — The Ports of Ireland
For its 11th edition, Zones Portuaires is setting sail for the ports of Ireland. From May 5 to 10, 2026, the festival will offer a cinematic journey across the island through its ports: Dublin, Belfast, Cork, and Galway, all port cities that mark the history and present of cinema.
This new season will address the social, political, geographical, human, and environmental issues of this maritime territory through the lens of Irish cinema. The program will question the major fault lines that traverse the island, between tradition and modernity, colonial memory and cultural renewal.
The full program, including selected films, meetings, exhibitions, and the sports focus, will be unveiled in the spring of 2026 on the festival's official website.
Programme Zones Portuaires 2026
2026 Program — Ireland
The full program for the 11th edition will be announced in spring 2026. The festival will feature:
- Documentaries and Features: a selection of Irish films exploring the port territories of Dublin, Belfast, Cork, and Galway
- Short Films and Animated Films: an overview of Irish cinematic creation
- Meetings: discussions with Irish filmmakers and professionals
- Exhibitions and Concerts: cultural programming at the LiFe and partner venues
- School Program: middle school prize, middle and high school tracks, including a new track at the LiFe
- Ciné-Mousses: pre-festival screenings in partner cinemas
Highlights Zones Portuaires 2026
To Remember for 2026
- Dates: Tuesday, May 5 to Sunday, May 10, 2026
- Destination: the ports of Ireland — Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Galway
- 11th edition of the Zones Portuaires film festival
- Venues: cinema Jacques Tati, LiFe (submarine base), Cinéville, and partner cinemas
- New: a high school track at the LiFe
- Ciné-Mousses: pre-festival screening evenings, including a St. Patrick's Day evening on March 17
Prices Zones Portuaires 2026
Practical information — Zones Portuaires
Practical Information
Festival Venues
Screenings and events take place in several locations in Saint-Nazaire and its region:
- Cinéma Jacques Tati — 2 bis avenue Albert de Mun, 44600 Saint-Nazaire (main screening venue)
- LiFe — Base sous-marine — Boulevard de la Légion d'Honneur, 44600 Saint-Nazaire (welcome point, exhibitions, concerts, bar, catering)
- Cinéville Saint-Nazaire — Rue du Bois Savary, 44600 Saint-Nazaire
- Cinéma Le Pax — Pornichet (partner screenings)
- La Toile de Mer — Pornichet (Ciné-Mousses screenings)
Ticketing and Prices
Single ticket: €6.50 (full price)
Festival Pass: €30 (access to all festival screenings, available online and at the cinema Jacques Tati)
LiFe: free access (exhibitions, lounge area, concerts)
Screenings and the festival pass are eligible for the Pass Culture.
Access
By train: Saint-Nazaire station (TER from Nantes in 1h, TGV from Paris via Nantes). The cinema Jacques Tati is about a 10-minute walk from the station.
By bus: Yélo network, lines serving the city center of Saint-Nazaire and the submarine base.
By car: Saint-Nazaire is accessible via the N171 from Nantes (60 km). Parking near the cinema Jacques Tati and the submarine base.
Contact
Association Cales Obscures
Maison des associations Agora 1901
2 bis avenue Albert de Mun
44600 Saint-Nazaire
Phone: 07 66 04 34 63
Email: [email protected]
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Travel to this festival
Book your train or bus to reach Zones Portuaires at the best price.
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Where does it take place — Zones Portuaires
Cinéma Jacques Tati et LiFe — Base sous-marine
2 bis avenue Albert de Mun, 44600 Saint-Nazaire