by les Films en compote
Film diary of an anti-GM direct action, shot in Super 8 and told through the words and memories of the people who took part in it.
A visit to the location of an experimental crop of genetically-modified rapeseed becomes the occasion for a long debate about the future of agriculture with the farmer who had hosted it on his land.
A record of the inaugural genespotting action organised in Belgium by the CAGE (Collectif d’Action GénEthique). The film was put together with the assistance of several of the people who had organised and taken part in the day’s action, and the soundtrack records their memories and thoughts. Pierre Deruisseau helped us choose the music. The technical and aesthetic responsibility for the editing lay with myself and Helen Holder, but the authorship of the film was collectively ascribed to Les Films en Compote, the filmmaking wing of the CAGE, and an untranslatable play on words.
This film is dedicated, retrospectively, to the memory of my friend and comrade Helen Holder, and to that of Eric van Wynsberghe, the farmer with whom we met that day, and with whom we remained in friendly contact for many years afterwards, both of whom passed away far too young.
Interview about Genespotting with Sebastien Denys of the CAGE (in French).
15 minutes, DV/Super 8, 4:3, mono.
Distribution: Indymedia European Newsreal 8
Used by ASEED Europe to launch their 2003 European Genespotting campaign.
Excerpts screened by ARTE Germany (Absolut).