It all began nearly 40 years ago, even before I was born.
My mother was not yet 20 and aspired to become a film director. Computers did not exist at the time. She kept a handwritten notebook where she jotted down ideas for films. Accepted into film school, much to her regret, life did not allow her to pursue the education she had dreamed of so dearly.
In 2017, during a conversation, she shared this notebook with me. One of her early ideas truly captivated me! I felt an undeniable need to continue what she had been unable to accomplish: to make a film based on her idea.
Critical thinking was the foundation of her story.
It is something I am deeply committed to myself.
As a student at ESSEC Business School, I chose my school for its Purpose “Enlighten. Lead. Change” and for the prominent role it gives to critical thinking.
My project aligns fully with one of ESSEC's fundamental pillars:
“In the face of economic, social, and environmental transformations that have never been so rapid and profound, new forms of leadership must emerge.”
In a world that sometimes lacks environmental coherence, I have become aware, particularly through my courses on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), of the impact our decisions as future managers and entrepreneurs have on the transition process.
As agents of change, it is crucial to focus our energy on beneficial initiatives rather than succumbing to greenwashing practices, which, while superficially appealing, provide only a deceptive gloss with no real positive impact. However, the stakes extend far beyond our individual decisions.
Our role is also to convince everyone, regardless of their position in society, of the importance of maintaining a vigilant critical mindset. This is crucial to distinguish actions that are truly beneficial to the environment from those that are meaningless and to ensure the effectiveness of our environmental transition.
To raise public awareness of this individual responsibility, a suspense film naturally emerged as my chosen medium of communication.
The recent rise in sea levels that submerged the planet under a vast ocean spared only one island: La Pointe Rose.
The starting point of the plot places the viewer in this post-apocalyptic world—now an ideal world, environmentally respectful, peaceful, and appealing.
The viewer will be swept away by the serenity and the intense pleasure of this harmony.
Despite what they see, this seemingly perfect harmony will gradually stir undefined intuitions in the viewer, leading them to the edge between doubt and certainty. Yet, they will reject these doubts. The lifestyle on this island so perfectly aligns with their deepest aspirations...
They are not the only one doubting. Simultaneously, Tana, a well-known journalist on La Pointe Rose, begins to question things when she discovers a mysterious journal. But unlike the viewer, Tana starts to feel an invisible force that seems to threaten her.
Tana hesitates but, deep down, refuses to succumb to "non-thinking." She wants to understand.
The illusion of Tana, seemingly consumed by madness and threatening the island's balance, will intensify as the plot unfolds.
The utopia will gradually transform into a dystopia: To defend the core values advocated on the island, Tana will decide—no matter the cost to herself—to indirectly expose a system that is not as harmonious as it seems.
Critical thinking was the foundation of her story.
It is something I am deeply committed to myself.
As a student at ESSEC Business School, I chose my school for its Purpose “Enlighten. Lead. Change” and for the prominent role it gives to critical thinking.
My project aligns fully with one of ESSEC's fundamental pillars:
“In the face of economic, social, and environmental transformations that have never been so rapid and profound, new forms of leadership must emerge.”
In a world that sometimes lacks environmental coherence, I have become aware, particularly through my courses on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), of the impact our decisions as future managers and entrepreneurs have on the transition process.
As agents of change, it is crucial to focus our energy on beneficial initiatives rather than succumbing to greenwashing practices, which, while superficially appealing, provide only a deceptive gloss with no real positive impact. However, the stakes extend far beyond our individual decisions.
Our role is also to convince everyone, regardless of their position in society, of the importance of maintaining a vigilant critical mindset. This is crucial to distinguish actions that are truly beneficial to the environment from those that are meaningless and to ensure the effectiveness of our environmental transition.
To raise public awareness of this individual responsibility, a suspense film naturally emerged as my chosen medium of communication.
The recent rise in sea levels that submerged the planet under a vast ocean spared only one island: La Pointe Rose.
The starting point of the plot places the viewer in this post-apocalyptic world—now an ideal world, environmentally respectful, peaceful, and appealing.
The viewer will be swept away by the serenity and the intense pleasure of this harmony.
Despite what they see, this seemingly perfect harmony will gradually stir undefined intuitions in the viewer, leading them to the edge between doubt and certainty. Yet, they will reject these doubts. The lifestyle on this island so perfectly aligns with their deepest aspirations...
They are not the only one doubting. Simultaneously, Tana, a well-known journalist on La Pointe Rose, begins to question things when she discovers a mysterious journal. But unlike the viewer, Tana starts to feel an invisible force that seems to threaten her.
Tana hesitates but, deep down, refuses to succumb to "non-thinking." She wants to understand.
The illusion of Tana, seemingly consumed by madness and threatening the island's balance, will intensify as the plot unfolds.
The utopia will gradually transform into a dystopia: To defend the core values advocated on the island, Tana will decide—no matter the cost to herself—to indirectly expose a system that is not as harmonious as it seems.
Jean Cocteau said: “Harmony is the reconciliation of opposites, not the suppression of differences.”
Through this quest for balance between harmony and doubt, critical thinking and passivity, humans and the environment, we ultimately aim to evoke the joy of boldness and self-questioning—the joy of actively participating, at one's own level, in the sustainable evolution of society...
Jérémy Lavalade
Download the