Filmmaker answers eco-anxiety with trips deep into nature in Le Vivant qui se défend, at Alliance Française on September 10
French videographer and activist Vincent Verzat reconnects with biodiversity in Visions Ouest presentation
Vincent Verzat.
Le Vivant qui se défend (The Wild Defending Itself)
Visions Ouest Productions presents Le Vivant qui se défend (The Wild Defending Itself) at Alliance Française Vancouver at 7 pm on September 10, with English subtitles; a discussion with Econova and environmental educator Manon Gartside follows the screening
LONG-TIME FRENCH videographer and activist Vincent Verzat describes his personal quest in the new film Le Vivant qui se défend (The Wild Defending Itself) as one between activism and naturalism, combat and contemplation, noise and silence.
And that’s exactly the kind of journey he takes viewers on here, with sweeping cinematography. He moves between footage of ecological ruin and mass protests filling the streets of Paris to the serene wildlife of the countryside, amid badgers, foxes, and deer.
Along the way, he restokes his hope and energy—and viewers may find the same result while watching his film, being screened here for the first time via Visions Ouest and Alliance Française.
The documentary tracks his reaction to burnout. For 10 years, the charismatic Verzat produced videos to inspire people to fight climate change and preserve biodiversity, through a YouTube channel called Partager c’est Sympa. But seeing so much destruction and futile-seeming protests first-hand, he decided to reconnect with nature—some of it right outside his hometown. His travels between the Millevaches plateau and the mega-ponds of Poitou give him a literal zoom lens on the fascinating wildlife suffering from the loss of habitat due to human development.
The moving film’s key message is that as much as we can talk about big issues involving gigatonnes of CO2, degrees of global warming, and the number of species facing extinction, we disconnect from nature at our own peril. 
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