An exceptional jury for the 6th edition of Masters de Feu in Compiègne

Ahead of the 6th edition of Masters de Feu, Compiègne is preparing to welcome back one of its major live-performance events: an evening where pyrotechnics are judged as much by the eye as by emotion. On Saturday, September 30, 2023, at the Compiègne racecourse, three competing countries are set to thrill the audience and impress a jury made up of well-known personalities, as well as spectators drawn at random on site. A lineup true to the spirit of the competition: combining artistic excellence, professional insight and popular sensibility.

Zahia Ziouani, a jury president with a musical touch

For the 2023 edition, the jury presidency has been entrusted to conductor Zahia Ziouani. This choice sets the tone: a competition fireworks display is far more than a succession of spectacular effects. It is built like a score. It has rhythm, breathing space, surges in intensity, silences, breaks and a finale. The presence of a musician at the head of the jury highlights this essential dimension of Masters de Feu: pyrotechnic art is also an art of composition.

In a pyrotechnic creation, the precision of the firing, the legibility of the tableaux, chromatic coherence and the relationship with the soundtrack are decisive. A jury chaired by a conductor therefore brings a particularly fine reading of the show’s dramaturgy. The sky becomes the stage, light becomes movement, and each sequence must find its place within a global architecture. In Compiègne, the performance is judged as a whole: not only for the beauty of its images, but for the accuracy of its storytelling.

Ten personalities brought together to decide between the creations

The jury for the 6th edition of Masters de Feu brings together ten personalities with complementary backgrounds. Alongside Zahia Ziouani are Sophie Edelstein, artistic director and grand illusion performer; Élodie Gossuin, radio host and Miss France 2001; Sandra Lou, TV host; Nadia Shakira Wong, director and producer of the Da Nang Firework Festival; Louise Rollet, Queen of Lily of the Valley of Compiègne 2023; Philippe Candeloro, figure skater; Philippe Marini, Mayor of Compiègne; Kazuo Suzuki, Mayor of Shirakawa; and Jean-Michel Wierniezky, Meilleur Ouvrier de France in glassblowing.

This diversity is far from incidental. It makes it possible to bring together several sensibilities: a stage perspective, media experience, knowledge of major events, attachment to the local area, a respect for craftsmanship and a familiarity with performance. A competition fireworks display must persuade very different spectators. It must impress without overwhelming, move without losing precision, surprise without sacrificing coherence. That is exactly what a plural jury makes possible: assessing the creation from several angles, with attention paid as much to technical execution as to artistic impact.

A jury at the crossroads of performance, culture and craftsmanship

The presence of Sophie Edelstein recalls the closeness between illusion, staging and pyrotechnics. In all three disciplines, the public’s gaze must be guided intelligently. An effect only works if it lands at the right moment. For surprise to succeed, it must be prepared. Light, smoke, rhythm and space form a language. This experience of visual performance naturally enriches the appreciation of a pyrotechnic fresco.

Élodie Gossuin and Sandra Lou, for their part, bring a direct relationship with the audience and with popular events. Their presence underscores the accessible dimension of Masters de Feu: an international competition that remains above all an evening of shared wonder, designed to amaze every generation. Philippe Candeloro, accustomed to major public performances, embodies another relationship to performance: one of mastered gesture, risk-taking, choreography and immediate emotion.

With Nadia Shakira Wong, director and producer of the Da Nang Firework Festival, the jury also opens up to an international culture of major pyrotechnic competitions. Her experience in organizing and producing a landmark festival gives particular weight to the assessment of the shows presented in Compiègne. As for Jean-Michel Wierniezky, Meilleur Ouvrier de France in glassblowing, he brings a rare sensitivity to matter, color, transparency and precision of gesture. In the art of fire as in that of glass, technical mastery is inseparable from the beauty of the result.

Compiègne at the heart of the 2023 jury

The 2023 jury also reflects the local roots of Masters de Feu in Compiègne. Philippe Marini, Mayor of Compiègne, and Louise Rollet, Queen of Lily of the Valley of Compiègne 2023, embody the direct link between the event and the city that hosts it. Masters de Feu is not only an international competition: it has become a key moment in local life, an eagerly awaited event that transforms the racecourse into a vast open-air theatre.

The presence of Kazuo Suzuki, Mayor of Shirakawa, adds an institutional and international dimension to this edition. It is a reminder that major cultural events also have the power to create links between territories. On an evening devoted to light, to the dialogue between pyrotechnic cultures and to meeting audiences, this openness takes on its full meaning.

The public invited to join the jury experience

A distinctive feature of Masters de Feu is that the jury is not limited to invited personalities. Members of the general public are also drawn at random before the show to take part in judging the compositions. This openness gives the competition a more lively and democratic dimension. It is a reminder that pyrotechnics are an art meant to be felt collectively, in the moment, by those who look up at the sky.

To try to join the jury for the 6th edition, spectators can register on the evening of the event at the Masters de Feu boutique, located opposite Gate B. Those selected at random thus join a rare experience: watching the shows with an active role, paying attention to the details, comparing the proposals and contributing to the final assessment of the teams in competition. It is a privileged way to experience the evening, as close as possible to the spirit of the contest.

Three countries competing for the 2023 Silver Master

This 6th edition is part of the selection dynamic of Masters de Feu, with three countries competing for the 2023 Silver Master. Hungary is represented by NUVU kft., Germany by Pyrogenie Feuerwerk GmbH and Romania by Pyro-Technic Transilvania Ltd. Three teams, three styles, three ways of inhabiting the sky of Compiègne. Faced with them, the jury will have to assess the quality of the tableaux, the mastery of the effects, the originality of the creation and the emotional intensity generated in the audience.

The role of the jury is all the more important because Masters de Feu celebrates not only the visual power of fireworks. The competition showcases a demanding discipline in which boldness must remain in service of precision, technique must give way to poetry, and every second counts. The final decision therefore rests on a subtle balance between expertise, sensitivity and the ability to recognize a fully accomplished creation.

See you at the Compiègne racecourse

On Saturday, September 30, 2023, the public is invited to the Compiègne racecourse for an exceptional evening under the sign of light, music and international competition. With a jury presided over by Zahia Ziouani, personalities from a wide range of backgrounds and spectators involved in the judging process, this 6th edition affirms the identity of Masters de Feu: a spectacular, popular and demanding event, where the sky becomes the arena of expression for the finest pyrotechnicians.