French president Nicolas Sarkozy was so impressed with the movie HOME, he requested a special English-version copy to give to President Obama during his visit to France.
HOME is the new movie created by acclaimed French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand. An artistic and activist film, HOME was released across the world without copyright on Friday, June 5th to spark public action about climate change.
According to the French photographer, famous for his environmental activism and spectacular aerial photographs, the French President phoned Artus-Bertrand personally to make sure he had a copy to give to Obama this weekend.
Following Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and Leonardo di Caprio’s The 11th Hour, HOME, which runs 90 minutes, was shot in 55 countries. « It is a magnificent film, with impressive images, a French production we can be proud of, especially since it will be shown free of charge worldwide, » said Sarkozy earlier this week.
The film is available to download or watch on YouTube for free this week. It was released simultaneously and shown on Friday in over 130 countries. It has been made available to schools in France. A free DVD and educational flash cards will be sent to those who request it.
The film’s message is extremely important, because it evokes survival. « Day by day, we ignore the implication of destroying molecules and we ignore the change in climatic balance it creates, » says Artus-Bertrand. He further insists on the urgent need to find a solution : « We have ten years to reverse the trend. »
Al Gore participated in writing the script and along with other scientists brought his approval and knowledge to the project. This push from fellow environmentalists however, didn’t prevent Yann Arthus-Bertrand from getting some hostile responses. Syria and the United Arab Emirates, for example banned him from entering their borders (the crew was able to shoot there using a fake name). The Indian authorities confiscated more than half of the footage shot there, and China raised a red flag, banning the film days before its international release. In the United States, an organization has filed charges against the producers of HOME for the images showing industrial cattle ranches.
No commercial intent
The colossal budget estimated at 15 million euros (21 million dollars) was established primarily by two heavy-weight French investors : industrialist François Pinault, who’s luxury holding company PPR owns Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Puma, among others, and French film director Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Nikita), creator of EuropaCorp production company.
The movie was viewed at five open air viewings in major world-capitals on Friday evening, including Central Park in NYC and the Champ-de-Mars in Paris.
Movie merchandise such as DVDs and books, or sales of the Gucci tee-shirt featuring the film’s logo (for 140€ or $195) will be split: 20% for the movie’s producers and 80% will go to GoodPlanet, Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s foundation.
The release of the film on June 5th coincides with the UNEP ‘s (United Nations Environment Programme) World Environment Day as well as European Parliamentary Elections on June 7th, calling voters from all 27 European member-states to the polls.
Links :
HOME official website in English : http://www.home-2009.com/us/index.html
Watch the movie on YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/homeproject
