Picture of the movie Animal © CAPA STUDIO - BRIGHT BRIGHT BRIGHT - UGC IMAGES - ORANGE STUDIO - FRANCE 2 CINÉMA - 2021
Animal: the sixth extinction seen from the perspective of teenagers
Following the success of Demain, which he co-directed with Mélanie Laurent, Cyril Dion has made a new documentary to alert us to the state of the planet. This time, he draws our attention to the sixth mass extinction in Animal, through the eyes of two children, a film screened as a Special Screening as part of “Cinema for the Climate”.
What if their parents and grandparents had caused irreversible harm? Bella and Vipulan, 16, are convinced that their future is doomed. Together, they question our relationship with the living, us as just one a species among many. In their quest, the two teenagers ask serious questions of adults, both the good and the bad.
The alert on the sixth mass extinction of animals was launched several years ago and the latest studies show that it is accelerating. The cause: global warming, pollution, deforestation and overexploitation. Faced with this emergency, Cyril Dion attempts to educate us by adopting the point of view of two teenagers who are full of worries and awaiting answers.
Bella and Vipulan are among those young people who, very early on, became involved with NGOs, took part in "Youth For Climate" marches or in civil disobedience actions. They carry the voice of a whole generation with its thirst for knowledge. In Animal, they meet activists, ethnologists like Jane Goudal, economists, farmers and politicians. Their youth makes the message clear and poetic, but make no mistake: this duo is nothing short of incisive in the face of the cowardice of those who would condemn their future.
