‘If we can improve the images of the world, perhaps we can improve the world’

Wim Wenders

Wim Wenders’ words have perhaps never been more relevant to a movie than in the case of Home.

Following directly on from Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, Home is, of course, a film with a message that sets out to shift people’s perceptions, make us aware of the tectonic movements at work and incite us to act. Although there is a general trend in our societies towards an awareness of ecological issues, concrete action is still too little, too slow—which constitutes in some ways the creed of the movie: It’s too late to be a pessimist.

But Home is more than a documentary with a message, it’s a magnificent movie in its own right. Every breathtaking shot
shows the Earth—our Earth—as we have never seen it before. Every image seems to be saying, “Look how beautiful the Earth is, look at what we’re destroying, and above all look at all these wonders that we can still preserve.”

When I started working on the project with Yann, I was convinced that the idea of shooting a movie entirely from up in
the sky, without interviews or archive footage, was the right one, but I couldn’t pinpoint why. One conversation enlightened me: “From the sky, there’s less need for explanations.” Absolutely! One’s vision is more immediate, intuitive and emotional. That’s what sets Home apart from all the other movies on the environment—which are all equally necessary in this crucial period
for humanity. Homeimpacts directly on the sensibility of anyone who sees it, bringing us to awareness, through emotion initially, in order to change the way we see the world…

It’s probably the “less need for explanations” that also enables the film to come through on its original aim of embracing the major ecological issues that confront us—and showing how everything on the planet is interconnected—in under two hours. And as the film was shot without a script, that was quite a challenge.

Besides the content, the movie’s specificity lies just as much in the manner of its distribution. Yann is a generous man, whose deepest desire from the outset was to share the movie with the whole world, for it to be seen by as many people as possible on every continent and, therefore, that it should be free!

When he told us of this aim at our first meeting—with my partner Marie de Masmonteil—I thought that it was simply impossible. His reference point was his exhibition “The Earth From The Air”, which—eight years after it first opened—is still being shown free of charge around the world and has so far been seen by over 100 million people. But the cost of producing a movie is far removed from that of a photo exhibition! Moreover, movies can only exist thanks to the revenue that they gene-
rate. How would it be possible, in that context, to show the movie free of charge except by appealing to very generous donors, which takes time, a lot of time? But the man is as impatient as he is stubborn and the battle to save the planet is urgent, an absolute priority… He is also persuasive and inspires trust. So I committed myself to this adventure, not really sure where we were headed, but genuinely converted to the cause and absolutely convinced that the film should be made, even though everything could come to a halt as fast as it had got moving.

The incredibly spontaneous commitment of Luc Besson made the project credible and viable. It was indispensable for a film studio of international standing to be involved in the operation from the get-go. It was the commitment of François-Henri Pinault and every company in the PPR group that enabled us to realize the unthinkable aim of the film being virtually free all around the world. And it was the determination and drive of Yann Arthus-Bertrand that brought so much energy and talent together to win this incredible challenge for the common good, for the good of our planet and all its inhabitants. It’s probably a drop in the ocean compared to the task that awaits future generations, but I am sincerely convinced that it is our duty to make our contribution, however large or small. “Give me a place to stand and I will move the Earth,” claimed Archimedes. My only wish today is that Home will give millions of people on every continent a place to stand.The incredibly spontaneous commitment of Luc Besson made the project credible and viable. It was indispensable for a film studio of international standing to be involved in the operation from the get-go. It was the commitment of François-Henri Pinault and every company in the PPR group that enabled us to realize the unthinkable aim of the film being virtually free all around the world. And it was the determination and drive of Yann Arthus-Bertrand that brought so much energy and talent together to win this incredible challenge for the common good, for the good of our planet and all its inhabitants. It’s probably a drop in the ocean compared to the task that awaits future generations, but I am sincerely convinced that it is our duty to make our contribution, however large or small. “Give me a place to stand and I will move the Earth,” claimed Archimedes. My only wish today is that Home will give millions of people on every continent a place to stand.

(from producer’s note by Denis Carot, Elzévir Films)

Watch the movie now on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/homeproject