2000 People, 60 Countries—Pune, This Film On Humanity Is One You Can’t Miss

In a world simmering with fear, violence and hatred, a gentle reminder like the documentary film, Human, is what everyone needs to see. Made by the goodwill ambassador of the UNEP and acclaimed director, Yaan Arthus-Betrand, the documentary was the first ever film to premiere at the General Assembly of the United Nations with a 1000 viewers, on 12th September, 2015.

The film is a collection of stories, ranging from day-to-day experiences to some of the most unbelievable experiences lived by the people. The people were asked over forty questions, ranging from topics like religion and family to ambition and failure. The documentary covers so many things that have kicked up a storm in the world today—immigration, family, poverty, war, homosexuality, etc. Over two thousand people from 60 countries across the world have been interviewed by Arthus-Bertrand. Interwoven with these interviews are some amazing aerial shots of deserts, mountains and landscapes from across the world, accompanied by music composed by Armand Amar.

The people he has interviewed are from all walks of life—famous people like Bill Gates, Cameron Diaz, Jane Goodall, to people like Stephen Goldsmith, an aborigine from Australia, a family of Dalits from India, and death-row inmates from the U.S. What makes these interviews so much more special is that there is no mention of the peoples’ surnames, identity, locale or even background music in these interviews. The cuts between interviews and the landscape shots also happen without introduction and background information. “We wanted to concentrate on what we all share,” he said, explaining, “If you put the name of a person, or what country they’re from, you don’t feel that as strongly.”

The interviews have been compiled and edited in different ways, one of which is the format of a feature film, 191 minutes long. This version is being screened in Pune on 4th June, 2017 at the National Film Archive of India, Law College Road, at 5 p.m. The entry is free and open for all, and is an initiative by NFAI, Protecterra Ecological Foundation and Aashay Film Club. Human’s YouTube Channel offers the same in 6 different languages and also a lot more additional interviews, behind. If we were you, we’d make sure this weekend was free—this isn’t a film you want to miss out on.