Jacques Félix Birth Centenary- March 31, 2023

Jacques Félix

In 1961, Jacques Félix organized a festival of puppetry in his home town Charleville-Mézières, which later became internationally known as the Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes. It continues semi-annually to this day, attracting hundreds of puppeteers and presenters from around the world. Jim Henson acknowledged attending one of those festivals was a pivotal element in determining puppetry as a viable career for himself and Jane.

Jacques Félix was a kind, modest, generous gentleman. His puppet company, Petits Comédiens de Chiffons, was invited to perform at the UNIMA Congress in Moscow, 1976, where I first met him. In 1980, we both ran for the office of General Secretary of UNIMA, and he won. He took the time to personally console me. He proposed that we work together for UNIMA. I was pleased to serve as a Vice-President and help him in expanding membership in other continents besides Europe, especially Sub-Saharan Africa. It is under the leadership of Jacques Félix that UNIMA grew exponentially.

Jacque's home town, Charleville-Mézières, became the world center for puppetry where the International Institute of Puppetry (IIM) was established as was a puppetry school (ESNAM) directed by Margareta Niculescu. The World Encyclopedia of Puppetry Arts, edited by Henryk Jurkowski, was published  in French in 2009 and now is available online in English, French and Spanish thanks to Jacques' ties with UNESCO and Margareta's organizational skills.

Jacques Félix was one of the most significant and modest contributors to the art of puppetry I ever met.

– NANCY STAUB

To find out more about Jacques Félix visit -
World Encyclopedia of Puppetry Arts