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Surviving where life is no longer possible
As part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme, Oscar-winning French filmmaker Luc Jacquet tells us how visiting Antarctica for the first time 30 years ago completely changed the way he saw the world.
In this beautiful video, Luc Jacquet shares with us his passion for nature conservation, his love for the frozen landscapes of Antarctica, and how his life changed when he started filming the emblematic Emperor penguins.
His documentary March of the Penguins, which received the Oscar for Best Documentary in 2006, introduced Antarctica’s most iconic inhabitant to the world. Since then, Luc Jacquet has devoted his career to filming nature, and raising awareness about the vital importance of preserving biodiversity and the natural richness of the Planet. From the icebergs of Terre Adélie to the canopies of primary forests of Gabon and Peru by way of the mountainous forests of Jura, he has travelled far and wide in order to to bear witness and capture on tape the wilderness of natural ecosystems.
Born in Bourg-en-Bresse in 1967, Luc Jacquet spent his childhood roaming the Jura mountains. As he says himself, he still enjoys wandering and getting lost in the woods. That is where he learnt to blend in with nature to observe the world of animals and plants as the seasons go by.
During his studies as a biologist, Luc Jacquet embarked for a 14-month scientific mission to Antarctica. At the age of 24, he spent winter at the French scientific base of Dumont d'Urville, in Terre Adélie to conduct a census of marine mammals and birds, living where life seemed impossible.
Acknowledgements:
This interview was produced in collaboration with IceBreaker nature entertainment studios. Special thanks to Dimitri Bélot and Sarah Del Ben for their support and incredible coordination, filming and editing work.
