GENRE: Creative short film DIRECTOR: Eric Bates and Janique Robillard
This film is based on the show “Branché,” co-created by Cirque Barcode and Acting for Climate Montréal. The purpose of the project is to use the circus arts as a conduit to express something both companies care deeply about – the climate crisis – and to do so with the least environmental impact possible during creation and touring. At each new venue, the artists adapt the show to emphasize and celebrate the beauty and the specificities of the natural landscapes of Quebec. Branché is a celebration of the strength of community and our relationship to each other and to nature. Both the acrobatic show and film aim to evoke a feeling of hope and optimism in face of the climate crisis, that humans can return to a state of balance, and cooperation with nature and with each other.
The film explores different scenes inspired by the nature around us and the climate crisis we’re now facing; it illustrates both the beauty and potential of humans working in harmony with nature, as well as the uglier, more chaotic conflicts of the crisis, such as the diminishing of resources and livable space on the earth. The goal of the project is not to villainize or patronize humans, rather to celebrate nature and emphasize our inclusion as humans within its ecology, thus demonstrating the oneness of nature and humanity as something beautiful and worth preserving.
Directed and Produced by Eric Bates and Janique Robillard
Director of Photography - Kes Tagney
Acrobatics director and Editor - Nathan Biggs-Penton
Perfomers
Agathe Bisserier
Anna Soltys Morse
Samuelle McGowan-Richer
Anne-Marie Godin
Clara Scudder-Davis
Tristan Nielsen
Sorrell Nielsen
Eric Bates
Heidi Blais
Nathan Biggs-Penton