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Luc Jacquet, director of the Oscar-winning March of the Penguins, will present his fourth feature film, Ice & Sky, as Closing Film of the 68th Festival de Cannes, Sunday May 24, in the Grand Théâtre Lumière of the Palais des Festivals.
In this documentary, Luc Jacquet discusses the scientific discoveries of Claude Lorius. After replying to an advert in 1955, Lorius left for a one-year journey to the Antarctic in 1957 with no means of return or support. That journey set the course for the rest of his life.
Lorius discovered that each air bubble trapped in the ice was a sample, and that the ice a few metres down contained air that had been breathed by the Romans.
These discoveries resulted in drilling operations that would later help Lorius go more than 400,000 years back in our climate history – something that had never been done before.
Today, aged 82, Lorius continues to look at the future with hope. He has decided to retrace his steps and share his experiences, possibly for the last time.
‘I believe that men will still up. Men will find the solidarity that will lead the people living on this planet to another type of behaviour.’
Claude Lorius, glaciologist
Lorius recounts a world that is rooted in the Anthropocene: a new era in which man is powerful and governs the word’s ecology and climatic progress.
‘Now that he is 82 years of age, I feel like going back in the past with him to recount his story: to travel along the timeline of his life, as a genuine reflection of our planet history.
‘To paint a subtle portrait of this marvellous, wise old man with whom I intuitively share words and images that stem from our immoderate love of the Antarctic, a headland where both of us, forty years apart, have found a common destiny.’
‘Cannes is a huge opportunity for this film and for what it says. I am pleased and impressed, much like The Fifer from the tales that is welcomed at the palace.
‘Showing this film in the world’s largest film festival is contributing to this huge challenge facing humanity as quickly as possible to secure its future and the future of the planet. My language is cinema. In different times, I would have made other films. But I make fierce cinema, political cinema, cinema that has no choice.’
Luc Jacquet, Ice & Sky writer and director
Luc Jacquet has dedicated all his work to issues around the environment and Nature; before Ice & Sky came March of the Penguins (2005), Le Renard et l’enfant (2007) and Il était une forêt (2013). He has also created an NGO, Wild Touch, to educate more young people to respect and preserve the planet.
‘Echoing and supporting the fighting of those who have been alerting for a long time, the Festival de Cannes is pleased to get also engaged by programming Ice and the Sky to close its 68th edition.
‘Programming such a film is sending it to the future and to make an appointment for a successful Climate Change Conference to be held in Paris from November 30th to December 11th, 2015.’
Festival de Cannes statement
Ice and the Sky has been written and directed by Luc Jacquet. It has been produced by Eskwad and will be distributed by Pathé.
‘Now that, just like me, you know, what do you intend to do?’
Claude Lorius, glaciologist
The Festival de Cannes will run May 13-24, 2015. The Jury is chaired by Joel and Ethan Coen whom will hand out the prizes to the winners of the Competition before the screening of Luc Jacquet’s film.
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