Gérard Jugnot, Vorsitzender der Jury der Masters de Feu 2018

It was a presence that immediately set the tone for the 2018 edition. For the third Masters de Feu, held at the Compiègne racecourse, Gérard Jugnot was chosen to chair the jury of the international fireworks competition. Actor, director, screenwriter and producer, he was a particularly fitting choice for an evening whose imposed theme was “The Emotions of Cinema”.

Against the Compiègne sky, three nations were set to compete in pyrotechnic inventiveness: Poland, Canada and France. The stakes were high for the competing pyrotechnic houses: to win the 2018 Silver Master and thereby qualify for the grand final of the 2019 Gold Master. In this event, where technical precision must serve emotion, the jury’s eye plays an essential role. By entrusting the presidency to Gérard Jugnot, Masters de Feu made a clear statement of ambition: to bring together pyrotechnic spectacle, musical storytelling and cinematic imagination.

A 2018 edition conceived as a declaration of love to cinema

The theme chosen for this third edition, “The Emotions of Cinema”, opened up a vast artistic territory for the pyrotechnicians. The goal was not merely to launch beautiful colours into the night, but to compose true tableaux capable of evoking tension, tenderness, laughter, nostalgia or wonder. Cinema, an art of rhythm and editing, offers pyrotechnics a natural canvas: every sequence must appear at the right moment, every silence matters, every musical swell calls for a burst of light.

In this context, Gérard Jugnot’s presence made perfect sense. A key figure in popular French cinema, he is associated with several generations of audiences, through both his work with the Splendid troupe and the roles and films that have become familiar to the wider public. His world, often marked by humanity, imagination and direct emotion, resonated with the spirit of an evening designed to move a broad audience without compromising artistic standards.

Masters de Feu 2018 was therefore not simply a technical competition. The contest invited the teams to tell, in just a few minutes, a story made of music, colours, effects and breathing space. Pyrotechnics became a form of open-air cinema: wide shots, accelerations, breaks, final bouquets, contrasts and sweeping movements.

Gérard Jugnot, an ideal jury president

Choosing Gérard Jugnot to chair the jury meant associating the event with an immediately recognisable personality, but also with an artist accustomed to judging the accuracy of rhythm, scene and emotion. A competition fireworks display, when choreographed to a soundtrack, follows a precise dramaturgy: it must establish an atmosphere, surprise, keep the audience engaged, then conclude with strength without falling into excess.

This cinematic perspective was invaluable in assessing the proposals from Poland, Canada and France. The success of a show does not rest solely on the power or quantity of effects. It also lies in the coherence of the composition, the subtlety of the transitions, the balance between intensity and poetry, and the way each pyrotechnic product serves the artistic intention. In an edition dedicated to emotion, the sensitivity of the jury president provided a true guiding thread.

Gérard Jugnot was not announced merely as a guest personality. His involvement was part of the evening’s very structure, as he was also due to take part in a closing moment inspired by the world of “The Chorus”, a work closely associated with his name. This link between cinematic memory and pyrotechnic writing strengthened the identity of the 2018 edition: a popular, elegant, unifying spectacle designed to speak to the collective imagination.

A jury made up of personalities and connoisseurs

Around Gérard Jugnot, the jury brought together several figures from the world of entertainment, media, sport, culture and the Compiègne area. Among the announced members were Sandra Lou, TV host and producer, Philippe Candeloro, Olympic medal-winning figure skater, Jean-Marc Solbes, organiser of the Cannes Pyrotechnic Art Festival, Jérémy Charvet, singer and actor, as well as Sophie Goupil, documentary producer and director.

The jury also included Philippe Marini, Mayor of Compiègne, Antoine Gilibert, President of the Société des Courses de Compiègne, and Amandine Coclez, 2018 Queen of the Lily of the Valley. This line-up perfectly illustrated the DNA of Masters de Feu: combining the insight of entertainment professionals, the experience of figures used to the stage or the camera, and the local roots of an event that has become an important date in Compiègne’s autumn calendar.

Jean-Marc Solbes brought expertise directly linked to top-level pyrotechnics, while the profiles drawn from cinema, television, music and sport made it possible to assess the emotional and spectacular impact of the creations. At Masters de Feu, a winning show must convince through mastery, but also through its ability to win over both the audience and the jury.

Poland, Canada, France: three visions of fireworks in competition

The 2018 edition brought together three pyrotechnic houses representing three countries: Surex for Poland, Apogée for Canada and Grand Final for France. Each had to offer a personal interpretation of the imposed theme. This international face-off lies at the heart of the Masters de Feu concept: placing different expertise, distinct visual signatures and sometimes highly contrasting pyrotechnic traditions on the same open-air stage.

Poland, Canada and France do not necessarily approach fireworks with the same sense of rhythm, colour or narrative. This diversity is what makes the competition so compelling. The audience does not come merely to watch a succession of tableaux: it discovers schools, temperaments and different ways of making the sky resonate. The Silver Master thus rewards a complete performance, capable of combining technical excellence, artistic clarity and emotional power.

For the participating teams, the stakes went beyond the Compiègne evening. The 2018 winner qualified for the 2019 Gold Master, the grand final bringing together the winners from previous editions. This principle gives the competition a clear progression: each edition builds toward the next level, until the final showdown among the best crowned performances.

Compiègne, an open-air stage for an international competition

Since its creation, Masters de Feu has made it a priority to turn Compiègne into a spectacular stage for international pyrotechnics. The racecourse provides an especially fitting setting for this type of event: a vast space, generous visibility and the atmosphere of a major gathering. Once night falls, the venue takes on a new dimension. Eyes turn upward, music sets the narrative in motion, and the sky becomes the main screen.

The 2018 edition was part of this ambition: to offer a high-level evening accessible to the general public, yet shaped with real curatorial rigor. A successful fireworks competition depends on invisible organisation: safety, synchronisation, meticulous preparation and coordination between technical teams. The final spectacle, by contrast, must seem fluid, almost effortless. It is this alliance of discipline and magic that makes Masters de Feu unique.

With Gérard Jugnot chairing the jury, the third edition strengthened the connection between popular culture and pyrotechnic creation. Choosing cinema as the imposed theme meant speaking to everyone while giving the pyrotechnicians demanding artistic material. Between international competition, collective emotion and tribute to the 7th art, Masters de Feu 2018 confirmed its ability to turn a fireworks evening into a true cultural event.