Content from Via Découvertes Films

For generations, we have believed that man is driven by ruthless self-interest. But over the past decade, this idea has been increasingly challenged. New research from fields as diverse as political science, psychology, sociology and experimental economics is forcing us to rethink human actions and motivation. ‘The Altruism Revolution’ examines the scientific reasons behind the call for a more caring society.

The story of the birth of the exploitation of wild animals, the fruit of the iron twinning between the Industrial Revolution and the omnipotent and arrogant logic of colonialism, told through the multiple tribulations of Fritz, an Asian elephant who, one hundred and fifty years ago, worked in the largest circus in the world.

On August 15, 2021, Afghanistan descends into chaos. In one day, the completion of the withdrawal of Western forces precipitated the debacle of the regime in place: the army vanished, the leaders fled and the Taliban took Kabul without a fight. The great Central Asian country opens a new chapter in its tragic history, twenty years after the "war on terror" launched by George W. Bush in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. The undisputed masters of 40 million trapped Afghans, the "students of religion" are back and are savoring their revenge by posing as the United States' victors. Their program will surprise no one: to restore the Islamic emirate and set up the "true" sharia, i.e. a perfect world, with divine commandments applied to the letter as in the time of the prophet.

Four French museums, the Louvre, the Quai Branly, the French National Library, and the Rouen Museum, are faced with pressing demands for the return of works of art. The number of demands is multiplying. They come from all over the world, and in particular from Egypt, Mali and New Zealand. The question of returning works of art to their countries of origin is increasingly making news. Take for example the emotions aroused by President Sarkozy’s decision, on the 12th November 2010, to return 297 royal manuscripts to South Korea. The ensuing row involved diametrically opposed points of view. Was it a violation of the principle of inalienability of France’s national collections or was it a just reparation for the victims of colonization? The rich countries’ great museums and the countries of origin have completely different visions of the issue. The museums defend the idea of a universal museum whose works belong to the whole of humanity.

For thousands of years, gold has been the most treasured and coveted of all metals. But extraction sites are dwindling and what little gold that remains is harder and harder to mine. However, there is a place where you can still find vast quantities of gold. Underwater archaeology has revealed that 3 million shipwrecks litter the ocean floor, 3,500 of which sunk with cargoes of ’precious metals’ onboard. Billions of dollars worth of gold, just sitting there, at the bottom of the sea. With today’s technology, this gold is in reach.

The story, hidden by historians and biographers, of Jeanne, a black woman, whose real name is unknown, who was the muse and companion of the mythical French poet Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867).

He was one of the first scientists to provide evidence of the link between greenhouse gases and global warming. That was in 1987. Since then, Jean Jouzel has not stopped fighting against the climate sceptics and urging politicians to commit to the climate. Above all, for more than thirty years, he has encouraged us to change our habits and to take care of our planet to avoid the worst. Between an intimate story and a historical epic, from Janzé in Brittany to Washington via Paris and Tokyo, Jean Jouzel, in the battle of the century is a film about a man and his era, an era that has seen us become aware of the need to change our relationship with the world.