Meeting with Frédéric Lilien

Frédéric Lilien: This story begins in New York. I was 23 years old. I had left Belgium, feeling lost, in search of myself. I was going to Central Park every day to take a break from work. One day, as I was biting into my sandwich, I noticed a big bird above me. A beautiful buzzard in the heart of New York. That was when something clicked; I felt that I had to tell the unique story of the resilience of this urban raptor, and I had to do it by becoming a wildlife filmmaker. I filmed this raptor for five years, which required a lot of patience and perseverance. These images became my first film. This bird had, in fact, an exceptional life path. This 31-year old female had adapted to life in the city and had even procreated a whole dynasty of buzzards in New York.

Another special encounter allowed me to produce this film. Her name is Nora Ephron (a renowned screenwriter who worked on When Harry Met Sally, among other films). She had bought the rights of a book about this same raptor (Red-Tails in Love By Marie Winn). She was thrilled by my images, and that's how the film was suddenly produced! As the last step, I contacted a small company in California that was just starting up at the time, offering the possibility for anyone to distribute and sell DVDs and VHS tapes. That company has been around since then; it's Netflix! Then I started to submit the film to festivals, and it was a success! Simply because it was unique to see, a different story from the usual animal films.

Since then, you have directed many documentaries, including for National Geographic. Why this desire to share stories about the animal world?
First of all, it's a passion, something I have in me. Even as a child, I loved going for walks and observing nature around me. There is of course the wonder, the sensory and aesthetic experience, but today it is the climate change emergency that guides my choice of films. My wish is to address people, not those who are already convinced like the audience of National Geographic, but those who do not have this passion in them. It’s about transmission, and I try to convey a message.

Your trademark is immersive experiences. What is your ambition?
I have always wanted to immerse the viewer in a unique environment, but you're right. I wanted to go further and for a few years I devoted myself to making immersive films. I have an interest in those technologies because the senses are awakened! Immersion is about this sensation of intense presence while being transported elsewhere. And if the viewer is more attentive, the message gets across much better. The idea is to awaken a powerful emotion in the person by creating an atmosphere and a unique environment. I wanted to explore this way of communicating, different from those used in classic films. People can get easily overwhelmed with the amount of images they see everyday. So we need something more powerful.

Technically, it's a challenge because there are many factors to consider when creating an immersive film. There is a certain way of filming; for example, you have to stabilize a lot, and you can't zoom in. You have to be ingenious sometimes. For instance, I have a friend in New York who created a system for me, a sort of Rubik's cube composed of six GoPro action cameras to cover a 360° field of view. Then you have to combine the images. In the beginning, we processed this frame by frame; now, we are fortunately operating with more efficient systems. To be honest, I am not a very good technician. I have become a good picture editor because you learn to tell a story with only what you have - the strength of the message you want to convey matters most to me. My ambition is to motivate people, to create passion. 

Do you think it is possible to transform emotions into concrete actions?

My objective is to bring people together, to say "let's do this together". We have to show people that it is possible by changing our habits. There would be a lot of benefits if everyone contributes a little bit in their own way. I understand the state of mind of many young people today. It is difficult for them. Their youth is being stolen from them, they are being given a huge responsibility. Today's message is that they must sacrifice, give up, and renounce. So it's obviously scary. On the contrary, we could adopt a much more positive discourse that values each person's involvement. This is the spirit of this immersive experience and of the support that follows through a motivating digital application. It is about offering a tool to the youth. It is necessary to present existing solutions and an achievable future. The idea is to create a tool for as many people as possible because we need to move up a gear. I am a unifier.

Where will we see this concept installed for the first time?

In Luxembourg, I hope!
I benefit from the strong support of the IMS network, a great promoter of my idea, who immediately believed in it. We have presented this project to several local players who have expressed their interest and discussions are underway. I would like to take this opportunity to make a call for participation, because at this stage, things are not yet decided and all public and private support are welcome.

It is important to remember that this is a major project and will take some time to complete. We are not talking about a simple exhibition but an evolving project that will bring together many stakeholders. It will be a real rallying point, a place where everyone will be able to find the motivation to commit themselves to the protection of the environment in the long term.