René Dumont : Global Ecologist

À la charnière des deux siècles, un homme fait entendre son indignation. Le 20e siècle défile, à la manière d'un clip, à travers les yeux de René Dumont, 97 ans, agronome et militant, combattant de toujours pour la paix, la justice et l'environnement. Mais c'est vers l'avenir que Dumont se tourne en nous criant : «Ouvrons les yeux! Le XXIe siècle est mal parti !» Ce film transmet donc son héritage d'indignation et d'engagement, comme un message d'amour de l'humanité et d'espoir en l'avenir.

The Dinkas of South Sudan are an extremely patient people. With empty stomachs, they await the next harvest. For the last forty years, an intermittent state of civil war has divided the country in two. Too often, famine has struck. The population of Alek has requested aid. Sacks of grain are dropped from planes, but to prevent rioting, distribution is delayed until the arrival of reinforcements. During this week of waiting, we witness the face of hunger.

The act of triage is the ultimate humanitarian nightmare. Racing against time with limited resources, relief workers make split-second decisions: who gets treatment; who gets food; who lives; who dies. This impossible dilemma understandably haunts humanitarians like Dr. James Orbinski, who accepted the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) as their President, and was a field doctor during the Somali famine, the Rwandan genocide, among other catastrophes. Having seen the best and worst of humanitarian assistance and of humanity itself, Orbinski embarks on his most difficult mission to date - writing a deeply personal and controversial book that struggles to make sense of it all. Leaving his young family behind in Toronto, Canada - where he's a university professor and doctor - Orbinski returns to Africa, revisiting the past and engaging with the present. He hopes that here, in the place where he witnessed humanity literally torn apart, he can rediscover the true heart of humanitarianism.