The Festival du Regard dedicates its eighth edition to the theme of the animal, exploring the complex relations between humans and animals. Rooted in artistic, scientific and social history, the subject questions our belonging to that realm and reveals an ambivalent closeness: from domesticated creatures to those caged, protected or studied. Since prehistoric times animal representations have symbolised the ancient bonds between the two, from rock art to cabinets of curiosities. In an era marked by the sixth mass extinction, the urgency of preserving biodiversity underlines the fragility of our shared world. The edition brings together fifteen authors, whose work captures the beauty, the vulnerability and the diversity of animals, whether naturalised, photographed in their habitat or turned into contemporary art objects; in tribute to those who, like John Berger, truly see animals, it invites a reflection on our profound bond with the living.