Tribute to Philémon Vanorlé and Launch of the Monumentu Game

as part of Say Cheeeese!

Event

on the occasion of Say "Cheeeese!"—The Institut pour la photographie Launches a Photo Mystery Game Monumentu and pays tribute to the Belgian visual artist, filmmaker, and set designer Philémon Vanorlé, who passed away in 2025, co-creator of the game with Marc Bour, and a close collaborator of the Institut pour la photographie. This tribute will feature a screening of the film Calendula , co-directed with his partner, the artist and filmmaker Justine Pluvinage .

In his artistic work as in life, Philémon Vanorlé loved to evoke the absurd and poetry. A collector of postwar vernacular photographs depicting people posing in public spaces, he collaborated with the Institut pour la photographie in 2020 for the exhibition Monumentu , created from his collection. This exhibition gave rise to the game of the same name, co-designed with sound designer and musician Marc Bour, which the Institute is launching and invites visitors to discover during Say Cheeeese!

Based in Lille, Philémon Vanorlé also participated regularly in the Institute’s artistic and cultural outreach program and had served on the jury for its first grant program supporting children’s photo books in 2024.

Calendula by Philémon Vanorlé and Justine Pluvinage

2024 - 36 minutes - short fiction film

Calendula: from Latin calendae “first day of the month.” A medium-sized annual plant with bright yellow, ray-flowered heads and therapeutic properties. Its common name, “marigold,” comes from the Latin for “following the sun.”

Two 13-year-old girls, twin sisters, are walking around, lost in thought.
Like a walking road trip through Flanders in the summer, they tirelessly push a greenhouse on wheels, which is by turns a burden and a source of sustenance. Along the way, they cherish and share their worries. An encounter will disrupt their journey.

"Halfway between fiction and documentary, this film—in the tradition of road movies—is a coming-of-age journey into the heart of adolescence."

Philémon Vanorlé and Justine Pluvinage

Calendula is presented in collaboration with artconnexion, an art center in Lille, and produced as part of the initiative New Sponsors . Produced in Hauts-de-France and other regions, these works demonstrate how citizens are seizing the opportunity presented by artistic commissions to address issues related to the region, memory, cultural transmission, and community life.
Sponsor: La Maison de l’enfance et de la famille Métropole Roubaix–Tourcoing
With support from the Fondation de France, Pictanovo, and Pariaso Production