Severn, The Voice of Our Children by Jean-Paul Jaud, the new eco-friendly film you absolutely must see…

In case the name Jean Paul Jaud doesn't ring a bell, he's the one who made the film Nos Enfants Nous Accuserons... (well, if that really doesn't mean anything to you, rent the DVD)

So this year, on November 10th, he's back with an even more committed film, featuring a character we know. While I shouldn't generalize from my own experience, this 12-year-old girl who challenged the UN at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, saying that we must act for future generations (the speech dates back to 1992) Here's the video that we never tire of watching... (I just think that at 12-13, I didn't have Severn's ecological awareness at all)

So yes, it feels like the film won't be brimming with joy, because (and this is my point of view) things have only gotten worse environmentally in the last 18 years... and the alarm bell rung by this young child sadly resonates today as an inevitability...

But because pessimism doesn't move society forward, the film, on the contrary, shows the positive initiatives taken around the world. And it questions us about what kind of world we will leave for future generations.

I hope it will achieve the same success as "Nos Enfants Nous Accuserons." In any case, a woman like her definitely deserves a film... yet eco-films tend to depress me... like "Quel monde pour demain," "Are consumers really ready to change?" We eat so much crap, it sometimes takes me a good week (or more) to recover... but the optimistic angle of initiatives (especially right now) I think is also a good way to get the eco-message across, rather than dramatizing as usual (even if it's necessary, but what's the point?).

++  Severn, the Voice of Our Children