The manifesto

The climate is spiraling out of control. One million species are on the brink of extinction. Hundreds of millions of people are pushed into extreme hardship. The ecological crisis is shaking the foundations of our democracies, economies, and societies… Yet we, film professionals, carry on as if nothing is wrong. Almost. 

Cinema is a polluting and extractive industry. An average film shoot emits as much CO2 as 37 round trips between Paris and New York. All French cinemas combined produce as much emissions in one year as the city of Nancy. We can and must do better. So far, we have only made marginal adjustments—sometimes conducting carbon audits and thinking about reducing our films’ emissions without disrupting our artistic ambitions too much. But the situation demands a collective mobilization and shared awareness. Everything is connected. We are all connected. We are the society of the spectacle. In these critical times for humanity, what is our true purpose? How can we, as artists and film professionals, do our part, rethink the meaning of our work, and help populations adapt?

In reality, we possess superpowers—and with them, great responsibilities. Every day, our films reach millions of people. Cinemas and films create unique bonds between humans, bringing them together around shared stories that shape how they see and understand the world. Just as Americans promoted and spread the American way of life worldwide after World War II through films, television, and advertising, today we have the power to build new representations of the world and the future. Everything must be rethought, reinvented, rebuilt. But how can this new world come to life if we are not first able to imagine it? Through film, we can inspire new ways of being in the world, connecting, and facing the challenges ahead.

Today, we call on everyone who wants to take action to join us. We don’t have ready-made solutions, and we will need the intelligence and input of each individual.

To this end, with the support of the CNC, we are launching three initiatives led by working groups to assist all those willing to :

• FORM : Produce, distribute, and exhibit while minimizing our ecological footprint through numerous tools such as sector-specific charters, calculators, and eco-conditional funding…
• BACKGROUND : Write stories that allow us to envision a fairer and more sustainable society by offering training and writing residencies to raise awareness and confront film professionals with today’s global challenges.
• DISTRIBUTION :  Maximize the reach of works prioritizing societal impact, particularly by supporting their impact campaigns to inform, spark debate, and trigger action.

For full transparency and to keep everyone informed, we gather all professionals already working on these issues on an online platform to connect and support their efforts.

We are undertaking ambitious and vital tasks: transforming ourselves together—viewers, exhibitors, distributors, exporters, technical providers, partners, funders, technicians,

producers, agents, composers, actors, writers, directors—and harnessing the power of cinema to help us understand and face the ongoing and escalating upheavals. Today, we choose to fully engage in this battle of the century: the one that will enable us to keep this world livable for all.