TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT

18 years old. We leave our homes for the first time. For Olivier, it was to visit Australia and for Melanie, to go to Europe.

  Far from being rich, with no substantial traveling experience in our bundles, a new world was revealing itself to us. At first, it was curiosity and discovery: we were hitchhiking, meeting loads of interesting people and trying, despite hardships, not to be too touristy. Subsequently, the need to share, to learn more about different cultures and ways of living took over. This is when we decided together to create projects.

   We initially thought we could teach things to people, but we rapidly realized that it was something else, far beyond that. On the contrary, it was us who were learning: on ourselves as well as on our ways of life, our values, on the luck we had to live in privileged society, technologically advanced. On the other hand, we also learned that this privilege has its share of inconvenients: our advanced society is materialistic and individualistic.

    Projects then succeeded one after another: India, Nepal, Madagascar, South Africa, Reunion Island, and Mexico. Each time, we came back enriched, knowing that we had, in some ways, touched the hearts and the conscience of few people. Every time we showed video images of our traveling experiences to our friends and families, we realized the impact a single image could have on one person. The effect was impressive.

     How could we take this further?  How could we now transmit to a friend the feeling we had when we entered in a giant supermarket for the first time when we came back from Madagascar?

    First, the shock of the variety of choices: tons of cereal brands, tomato and clam juice, tomato and herbs juice, tomato and this, tomato and that… vanilla, orange and pineapple yogurts, some many choices that we did not know what we wanted anymore!

    Second, the shock of choosing the right size: jumbo chocolate bars, giant chips bags, two litters Pepsi and Coke bottles. We were sincerely loosing it! Hence, the real culture shock was experienced at home after we came back, when we had to live in this society where everything goes to fast, where consumption is a way to comfort ourselves, and where individualism rules.

   The idea of producing our movie came from there. A movie in which the viewer travels, goes through various emotions, discovers new cultures and most importantly, realize what we experience when we traveled in “underdeveloped countries”. The adventure subtly leads us to question ourselves on various topics: our environment, consuming habits, pursuit of happiness, civil society…

                 But what exactly is this society in which we evolve?

   More than often, it seems that this society is one in which time is rushing, in which material needs are crucial, natural resources easily accessible, and transportation quick and effective. In fact, everything is so easily accessible that we tend to take it for granted: we forget to switch off the lights, to stop the water running when we wash the dishes, or to stop the car running when we have a few minute stop to make. Paradoxically, in this society, we need to work in order to consume these goods, and to pay for the ones we already consumed. Rapidly, we are trapped in a pre-fabricated schedule and we miss time, we are exhausted and there is no time or energy left for a simple walk after a day of work… 

 

The Asiemut Project, with its film, its book and its conference tour is more an action initiator than a denouncer of our way of life. We do not want to reduce our society to a single one of consumption, with no values and moral basis. Furthermore, we do not want to disparage technological progresses that make this life delightful, or compare Asian populations to those of Quebec, since they are way too different for comparison because of their history, culture, and dissimilar evolution. We rather aim to underline certain ways of seeing life, which could have a real impact on our personal wellbeing, and consequently on our common wellbeing, if they where properly used.

 

Too idealistic? Well, we are far from being the only ones to think that a better future is possible! Here and there, protests are organized, people are involved, they get informed, they help and encourage each other. Here and there, initiatives are taken; opinions are said or written, opinions that count. Slowly but surely, environmental matters become political concerns and they cannot be ignored anymore. Slowly, people empower and take the spot that belongs to them. 

 

 

Originality, emotions, realism, and optimism are the guidelines of our project. A project, which will allow the viewers to start a new reflection and, let’s hope, take action. The chain effect can, sometimes, be way larger than what we expected…