First and foremost, HOME is the logical continuation of Earth from Above, Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s manifesto book: 3 million copies sold worldwide in 24 different languages since its publication in 1999. Behind this publishing success, is the quality and beauty of the images taken by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and the interest generated by the project. Using images, he paints a picture of the main ecological and social challenges facing the world.

After the book comes the film, which is born of the desire of the photographer, who turned director for the occasion, to develop his approach and take it further: « This movie has been inside my head for 15 years now. All that I saw and learnt whilst flying over the Earth has transformed me. Today, I want to share all that I have gained. »

Yann Arthus-Bertrand turned to Luc Besson. Given the ecological ambitions of the project, it did not take long to recruit the director of, among other films, The Big Blue, who also set up the Europacorp production company, a film studio which he founded. « I have always been a lover of the Planet, and I have tried to show people its most beautiful aspects through my movies Le Grand Bleu, Atlantis and Arthur and the Minimoys. It was thus natural for me to join Yann in the production of this magnificent project.»

Together, the two of them decided to present the project to François-Henri Pinault. The Chairman and CEO of PPR had good reason to lend an ear to what they had to say. Indeed, for PPR, the year marked an accelerated increase of its CSR policy with the creation of a dedicated CSR Direction. And being a globally leader, PPR wants to act by informing and raising awareness to encourage each individual to take action.

 

Encouraging people to act is central to what HOME hopes to achieve... Given the weight of evidence, based on current knowledge, that mankind is endangering his own habitat, the film is resolutely constructive in its aims and promotes the principle that it is too late to be pessimistic. It suggests we have barely 10 years left in which to reverse the trend, realise that the unrestricted plundering of resources is leading us down the path to our demise, and change our consumer habits.

The urgency of the situation persuaded François-Henri Pinault to mobilise capital and throw the communicating power of the Group, which actively promotes ideas of Corporate Social Responsibility, behind the film’s aim of helping to raise awareness. PPR therefore pumped €10 million into the production over the course of 3 years. Also, and more importantly, the Group has mobilised its 88,000 employees to ensure HOME enjoys the impact it deserved (see article “At PPR, HOME is where the heart is”)!

 

The project required 217 days of filming, taking in 54 countries between April 2007 and November 2008. 120 sites were filmed, with 500 hours of rushes on 733 HD cassettes. The feature film will be distributed in more than 100 countries and translated into 23 languages*.

Its simultaneous multi-format release on June 5th is timed to coincide with the World Environment Day, with the cinema, television, DVD and internet versions combined making this the biggest eco-event ever!

On that date, director Yann Arthus-Bertrand, producer Luc Besson, and François-Henri Pinault will all attend the screening of HOME on the giant screen on the Champ de Mars, Paris. On the same day, free open-air public screenings will also be aired in New York, where the town's cultural department is set to show the film on the giant screen in Central Park as part of a summer film festival; in Bristol in United Kingdom, as part of the Festival of Nature; at the Golden Hall Haroussi in Athens; in London at the Cinéma Lumière; at the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art and also in Barcelona, at the Environmental Film Festival.

After all, global challenges call for global responses…

 

 

* Please note that greenhouse gas emissions resulting from air travel and the hours spent filming from a helicopter have been offset by supporting clean development projects. Visit www.actioncarbone.org