on which beach to shoot a film on green algae?

Comics Green algae, the forbidden story had set a stone in the Breton pond by investigating the health disaster of the green tides since the 1970s. Its author, the journalist Inès Léraud, traced there, after three years of work, the lies and the secrets that surrounded the death of three men and several dozen animals on the region’s beaches. In particular, she pointed out the role of intensive farming in the proliferation of green algae and the agro-industrial interests surrounding the phenomenon.

Crowned with success, the comic strip illustrated by Pierre Van Hove will soon be adapted to the cinema in a film directed by Pierre Jolivet (my small business (1999), The men of fire (2017)). But the film crews seem to face unexpected difficulties.

While the filming of the film should begin in September, The Telegram explains that the production irritates some local elected officials. The teams would have chosen to put their cameras in several coastal towns, including Saint-Michel-en-Grève, in the Côtes-d’Armor. The daily reports that the mayor of the town, François Ponchon learned with anger of the shooting to come. “The production company 2.4.7 Films asked us and Lannion-Trégor Communauté (LTC) to provide them with filming locations, he explains. What saddens us is that the film is a strict application of comics. It does not refer to the progress made over the past ten years. (…) If they come with the cameras, we won’t prevent them, but we won’t participate either, in any way whatsoever.»

Read alsogreen algae : the forbidden storythe investigation that breaks the omerta on 50 years of disaster

Difficulties in closing the budget

The municipality is directly concerned by the subject. In July 1989, Jacques Thérin was found dead on the beach of Saint-Michel-en-Grève where he was jogging. This is the first suspected case of death caused by poisoning with hydrogen sulphide, H2S, a gas emitted by decomposing green algae, but at the time no research was carried out. Thirty years later, rider Vincent Petit is close to death; his horse is asphyxiated by the fumes of hydrogen sulphide on the beach.

Journalist Inès Léraud explains that she proposed to the municipality of Saint-Michel “not to film the entrance sign of the town”. “With regard to the measures taken in recent years, we have proposed to elected officials who so wish to write texts to add them to the credits and update the situation”, she adds.

Another pitfall stands in the way of Inès Léraud. For the moment, the region has apparently not granted any subsidies to the film, although it was shot entirely in Brittany, which makes it difficult to balance the production budget. “This is completely crazy”she reacts to the Telegram.

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