a year 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 a section Competitive selection Out of competition Fipatel a category Drama Series and Serials Creative Documentaries Reportage and Current Affairs Performing Arts Short Programs

The film follows the cloistered experiences of a team of wildlife filmmakers in Adelie Land at the Dumont D’Urville base to film the life of penguin and take part in this last great human adventure. The narration interweaves the points of view of these men, like a log written with a “camera stylo,” a blend of personal diary and adventure narrative. Their sensibilities take us deep into the winter night, the physical and psychic metamorphosis through the ever-longer months: life shared by penguins and men. The penguins set the rhythm, at ease in the extreme cold; the filmmakers film them as best they can in these inhuman conditions. The experience of these narrator-personages is both harsh and grandiose. Their task is to film the life of the Emperor Penguin. They can only meet this animal if they accept to share the isolation of the polar winter. These filmmakers had dreamed of confronting the Antarctic for the past three years. They left everything behind to make the journey. They are aware of being privileged and of the inherent problems of the venture. Filming in these conditions is no picnic. But the compensation of beauty and liberty afforded by the landscapes of ice and their untamed inhabitants has no equal for them.

France - 2004 - 53 mn - 16 mm - Colour

Director Luc Jacquet, Jérôme Maison Camera Laurent Chalet, Jérôme Maison Sound Jérôme Maison Editing Yen Le Van Music Christophe Hennotte

Production Bonne Pioche Production, 188, rue de la Roquette, 75011 Paris, France Tél : +33 (0)1 4929 4600 Fax : +33 (0)1 4929 9300 E-mail : bonnepioche@bonnepioche.fr with the  participation of Canal+, France 3

Sales Bonne Pioche Production, 188, rue de la Roquette, 75011 Paris, France Tél : +33 (0)1 4929 4600 Fax : +33 (0)1 4929 9300 E-mail : bonnepioche@bonnepioche.fr