Marie-Jo Pages :
« Seeing Michael Cimino moved to tears was amazing! »

PostED ON OCTOBER 17 AT 10AM

To her volunteer colleagues, she’s just “Marie-Jo,” but at the entrance of certain movie theaters, some festivalgoers still call her “Madame Pages.”

And for good reason. For some residents of the Monplaisir district, Marie-Jo was their teacher. This Lyonnaise was indeed director of the Lumière Nursery school, then the Simone Signoret Elementary school: "I was predestined to become a volunteer at the Lumière Festival," she laughs. For the past seven years, Marie-Jo has donned her red volunteer sweater to participate in welcoming the public to the Pathé Bellecour, as well as helping stock the shelves of the Village shop a few days before the event. "What I like most is the contact with people and the teamwork. The atmosphere is extraordinary, it's really festive!" Originally from Saint-Etienne, she adopted Lyon as her home. Passionate about cinema, an unconditional fan of Claude Sautet, Jeremy Irons and Donald Sutherland, Marie-Jo did not hesitate to swap her teacher-director’s wardrobe for the volunteer uniform when she retired. "What I find so great about this event is seeing old movies on the big screen. I remember the screening of Heaven’s Gate at the Halle Tony Garnier, presented by Michael Cimino, who was moved to tears. It was amazing!” Since then, Marie-Jo has passed down her enthusiasm to her two-year-old grandson, Eliott, who is celebrating his first Lumière festival this year!

Laura Lépine