“Live better with less”, Yann Arthus-Bertrand tells European premiere of Planet Ocean

"Planet Ocean", a new international documentary directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and Michael Pitiot had its European premiere at a screening at the Bozar Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels on 27 June in collaboration with UNRIC to celebrate World Environment Day.

The film will be shown on television worldwide and made available free of charge for screening in schools and events organized by NGOs.

This 90 minute HD documentary had its world premiere at Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro on 19 June 2012.

The film, a celebration of the beauty of the ocean and its importance for the planet, tells the story of the link between man and ocean, the future of humankind on earth, the governance issue of the high seas and future challenges.

While critical of the results of Rio+20, co-director Yann Arthus-Bertrand said that if there was a solution it could be found in a “revolution of civilization” with spiritual, ethical and moral elements. The revolution, he warned, would not neither be political, scientific nor economic but one that begins at home. “Everyone of us has to take into account the impact of our actions on the planet. There are people who need to progress, who need more, but we in the Western world have too much. We need to learn how to live better with less,” he told a full house at the premiere in response to questions from UNEP Brussels director, Christian Vanden Bilcke.

Introducing Yann Arthus Bertrand, UNRIC Director Afsane Bassir-Pour said “to whom do our oceans belong? To all of us and therefore to none of us, that is both a blessing and a curse, because who is responsible for their well being?”

Thanks to its astonishing aerial photography filmed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, and award winning underwater cameramen, the film takes the spectator on a magnificent and unprecedented journey into the heart of the least known regions of our planet.

Co-written with Michael Pitiot, the film is a collaboration with a unique pool of researchers, oceanographers and biologists from several countries.