La Vie est dans le Pré (Eric Guéret) France |

La Vie es dans la Pré
Eric Guéret
France. 2020. 52 min

Paul François is what we call a grain producer. Farmer in Charente, he cultivates 250 hectares of land. He was poisoned in 2004 by Lasso, a herbicide from Monsanto.
After ten years of doubts and hesitations, Paul decided to overcome his fears and to convert his lands into organic farming. We follow this exciting change for a year, from his last “chemical” harvest to his first crop without pesticides. Paul takes significant risks, but the stakes are high. If he succeed in organic farming, he will prove that biological agriculture is sustainable solution.

For 12 years, he has been fighting against Monsanto for the recognition of the firm’s responsibility on his health problems. This trial, which has become emblematic, will see its conclusion in this film during a final hearing at the Court d’Appel de Lyon.

ERIC GUÉRET

Eric Guéret has been making documentaries on social and environmental issues since 1992. He is specialized in the cinema of proximity, filming in total immersion, as close as possible to people, during very long periods.
Most of his films are about struggles, in all their forms. Collective struggles, as in “Greenpeace, Operation Plutonium”, which plunges into the heart of Greenpeace’s nuclear campaign, or “Tous ensemble”, which follows the struggle of CGT trade unionists.
Individual struggles, as in “La mort est dans le pré”, with farmers who are victims of pesticides, or “Femmes sans domiciles”, which recounts the survival conditions of homeless women.
He has made several investigative documentaries on environmental issues such as “Déchets, le cauchemar du nucléaire” and
“Nuclear safety, the big lie”.

He has also focused on the fight against violence and discrimination. “Les insoumises” is about women who face male violence around the world, “Homo la haine” about homophobia and its consequences, and “Trans c’est mon genre” about the rejection of transgender people.

His latest films focus more on the reconstruction of victims of trauma, such as “13 novembre, vivre avec” (November 13, living with) which accompanies some victims of the Paris attacks during their first year as survivors, or “Enfance abusée” (abused childhood) which gives voice to 8 victims of pedo-crime.
On October 21, 2020, his first film for the cinema, “Le feu sacré” (Holy Fire), was released in theaters. It tells the story of the battle of the Ascoval steelworkers in the north of France to save their factory. The film was unanimously received by the press and the public.

FILMOGRAPHY

1992 : Les Enfants du parti, documentaire – 52 min – Planète+
1998 : Histoires de profs, série documentaire de 8 épisodes de 13 min – La Cinquième
1999 : Paroles d’enfants, documentaire – 60 min – TSR (Suisse) et RTS (Sénégal)
2001 : France Gall par France Gall, documentaire – 120 min – France 3
2001 : Citoyen du vent, documentaire – 60 min – France 3 Corse
2002 : Renaud, le rouge et le noir, documentaire – 125 min – France 3
2003 : Langues maternelles, documentaire – 90 min – La Cinquième et Planète+
2003 : Julien en Clerc, documentaire – 130 min – France 3
2005 : Greenpeace, opération plutonium – feuilleton documentaire – 5 x 26 min – Arte
2006 : Les Mitterrand(s), coécrit avec Serge Moati – 57 min – Arte
2006 : Coluche, la France a besoin de toi – 52 min – France 3
2007 : Femmes sans domicile, documentaire – 98 min – Arte
2009 : Déchets : Le Cauchemar du nucléaire, documentaire – 98 min – Arte
2010 : Tous ensemble, en collaboration avec Hugues Nancy – documentaire – 75 min
2012 : La Mort est dans le pré, documentaire (sur les produits phytosanitaires1) – 52 min – France 2
2013 : Les Insoumises, documentaire – Infrarouge, 110 min – Canal+
2014 : Homos, la haine, documentaire – Infrarouge, France 2
2015 : La santé en France, documentaire – 90 min – France 3
2016 : Trans, c’est mon genre – Infrarouge, France 22,3
2016 : 13 novembre, Vivre avec – Infrarouge, France 22,3
2017 : Sécurité nucléaire : le grand mensonge, documentaire – Arte4
2018 : Enfance abusée, documentaire – Infrarouge, France 2
2020 : La vie est dans le pré, documentaire – 79 min – France 3
2020 : Le Feu sacré, documentaire – Cinéma