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United Nations Screening of “The Pursuit Of Endurance"

Last night (Sept 14, 2015) was a very special event for me and over 600 lucky viewers. I had been invited to show my movie, ’THE PURSUIT OF ENDURANCE – On the Shoulders of Shackleton’ at the United Nations. Being able to do this unique screening on the eve of the opening of the 70th Regular Session of the UN General Assembly was a true honor. The event was under the High Patronage of His Excellency François Delattre, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, who introduced the event. Our host was The Association des Français Fonctionnaires Internationaux de New York (AFFIN), represented by Sibylle Eschapasse. We had a post-film Q&A session with a panel including Paul Walker, Director, Environmental Security and Sustainability, Green Cross International (http://www.gcint.org/) and David Porter, atmospheric and oceanographic research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University (http://bit.ly/1Ou8U2z) Many questions were asked by children and adults alike about the film, the expedition, the Shackleton Endurance expedition, climate change, the Paris Climate COP21 conference in Paris in December, etc. The event was webcast and here is a link to the UN TV website showing introductory remarks as well as the full Q&A: http://bit.ly/1OVARyu.

 

From left to right: Luc Hardy, Sibylle Eschapasse (Présidente de l'Association des Français Fonctionnaires Internationaux de New York), Paul walker (Director, Environmental Security and Sustainability, Green Cross International), David Porter (Atmospheric and Oceanographic Research Scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University)  — Photos: Denis Assalit


More info on the film:

TITLE: “THE PURSUIT OF ENDURANCE"

A film by Bertrand Delapierre
Produced by Luc Hardy / Sagax Entertainment
Co-produced by Puzzle Media
Trailer film English: http://ow.ly/Ny7eM
World Premiere at Focus on French Cinema, Greenwich, CT – March 27, 2015: http://www.focusonfrenchcinema.com/
Festival du Film Francophone – Angoulême – August 25-31, 2015 – Official selection: http://bit.ly/1PzITxr

As seen in Variety: http://bit.ly/1EbvC6T

The Pursuit of Endurance
On the Shoulders of Shackleton
Trailer: http://ow.ly/Ny7eM

In the heart of the Antarctic, nine adventurers are about to live an extraordinary story.
They come from very different backgrounds, but one thing brings them together: a passion for adventure and testing the limits.
Their goal: to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest legends of the golden age of polar exploration: Ernest Shackleton.
In 1914, after the sinking of his shipThe Endurance, this hero saved his entire crew from a certain death.
100 years later our expedition sets out to explore the sub-Antarctic islands of Elephant, South Georgia and the South Sandwich by boat, ski and pulka.
On board the Australis: an expedition leader, a veteran explorer, a former officer, a skipper, a polar guide, a scientist, two young soldiers and an athlete snowboarder.
An expedition to remind us of the fragility of this highly endangered ecosystem, and to improve our understanding of these remote expanses.
With them, you will relive the best but also the most challenging moments of this great adventure.

With the support of SOPRA STERIA (http://www.soprasteria.com/en) and La Française http://www.lafrancaise-group.com/en/home.html

Trailer film English: http://ow.ly/Ny7eM

Au FFA (Festival du Film Francophone d’Angoulême), il y a aussi de la place pour le débat

 

CLIMAT “À la poursuite de l’Endurance” a permis de rebondir sur la conference de Paris

Le producteur Luc Hardy a animé le débat (photo Michel Amat). De gauche à droite: Luc Hardy, Nicolas Imbert (DG Green Cross France), Delphine Bathot (Députée des Deux-Sèvres et ancienne Ministre de l’Ecologie et de l’Environnement, Thierry Gortzounian (Secrétaire Général – La Française Group)




Une cinquantaine de personnes dans la salle et une seule star: l’Antarctique… Il n’y a pas que le strass et les paillettes dans la vie du FFA. Hier le documentaire de Bertrand Delapierre “À la poursuite de l’Endurance” était projeté au CGR. Le film raconte l’expédition polaire de neuf aventuriers partis sur les traces d’Ernest Shackleton dont le navire a fait naufrage , il y a près d’un siècle, au large de l’île de l’Elephant. Entre performance sportive et éclairage scientifique, le film a pour ambition de sensibiliser le public au dérèglement climatique. À l’issue de la projection Luc Hardy, le directeur général de Green Cross Nicolas Imbert et l’ancienne ministre Delphine Batho ont lancé le débat avec, en toile de fond, l’échéance de la conférence de Paris sur le climat. Un échange intéressant qui a permis de mesurer l’écart entre ceux qui pensent que la conférence fera bouger les choses et ceux qui restent pessimistes.

Article "Sud Ouest"

"THE PURSUIT OF ENDURANCE" AT UNITED NATIONS

I am pleased to announce that on the eve of the opening of the 70th Regular Session of the UN General Assembly, a special screening of THE PURSUIT OF ENDURANCE will take place – on 14 September 2015 at the United Nations' headquarters in New York City. The event is free. I hope you can attend. Details below:

"The Pursuit of Endurance" at The United Nations

A film by Bertrand Delapierre
Produced by Luc Hardy / Sagax Entertainment
Co-produced by Puzzle Media
A presentation at the UNITED NATIONS 
Under the High Patronage of His Excellency François Delattre, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations 
Hosted by: The Association des Français Fonctionnaires Internationaux de New York (AFFIN)  

Introduction: His Excellency François Delattre
Moderator: Ms. Sibylle Eschapasse
Post-film Q+A with Luc Hardy: the film, climate change and the COP21 conference: Luc Hardy
In the presence of a representative from Green Cross International.

– Monday, 14 September 2015 
– Start: 6.30 p.m to 8.30 p.m
– Exact Address: United Nations Visitor's entrance on 1st Avenue and 46th Street (Projection Conference Room 4)
– Bring your passport/ID
– Language: English
– Film Running time: 52'
– Please allow time for security check at entrance.
– The event is free

- The event is FREE but to attend, you and your guests must reserve your seats at: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-pursuit-of-endurance-at-united-nations-new-york-city-tickets-18099006616?aff=eac2

Greenwich Time : 'captivating' foreign films

The Focus on French Films festival, now in its 11th year, came again to Greenwich last weekend, captivating us with the ambiance of foreign language films and giving us an appreciation for the creative people who make them.
Renee Amory Ketcham, who chaired the festival, reported the same number of attendees this year as last despite the fact fewer films were shown: "4,500 cinephiles from the tri-state area."
The 20 films with newly added shorts selections were thoughtfully vetted, said Anne Kern, of Riverside, an associate professor of cinema at Suny Purchase, who was involved in choosing the films.
"The French produce 200 films a year," she said. "What we are doing for our festival audience is curating these French films and winnowing them down to choose what pleases and delights our audience."
A survey of last year's festival viewers showed more than a third had attended the festival for five years or more, indicating they approved the choices.
First on my list to see was the premiere of the documentary "The Pursuit of Endurance -- On the Shoulders of Shackleton," an inspiration realized by Luc Hardy, our hometown explorer, entrepreneur and venture capitalist.
Since learning of that great survival tale of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctica expedition aboard the ill-fated ship "Endurance," Hardy determined to trace Shackleton's footsteps. It took him two years to build his team, first enlisting David Hemplemann-Adams, the British first-climber of all seven of the world's highest summits, plus five other men and two women. A sailboat was found, as was a captain able to traverse such a course and cameramen brave enough to capture it all.
Of the courageous females, one was a scientist and another an extreme-sport snowboarder who dazzled viewers as she risked all shooting straight down snow-encrusted mountainsides.
The gorgeous shots of the expedition, showing the explorers' group stretched across vast snowscapes, were accomplished in part with drones, a technology embraced by Hardy. The drones afforded unforgettable images of the masses of seals, penguins and elephant seals on South Georgia Island.
But having the most impact was the sudden and formidable sight of Elephant Island rising out of the ocean in all its dark and fearful grandeur, a jagged mountain of rock, snow and ice where Shackleton's crew managed to survive for five months eating penguins and seals while waiting for rescue.
Other festival film highlights included the slow-moving but architecturally ravishing film "La Sapienza," focused on a Swiss architect in love with the 7th century works of Italian architect Borromini. The story was told in both French and Italian. Over 100 showed up for that one, including U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., and wife, Mary.
A film set amid the lushness of the Angkor Wat Temple in Cambodia called "The Gate" -- its French title was "Le Temps Des Aveux" -- told the stark story of a French ethnologist captured by the Khmer Rouge.
But the real standout for many was the film "Once in a Lifetime," or "Les Heritiers," the true story of a charismatic teacher in a Parisian suburban high school who involved her disparate class in an essay contest and, for inspiration, invited a Holocaust survivor to address them. The result was a transformative experience for the class.
Anne Kern, post screening, introduced the film's director, Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, a former American journalist and now-naturalized French citizen and director who had received the screenplay from one of those transformed students.
Mention-Schaar spoke of following the teacher with a camera for a year, then added a footnote. When the Buchenwald concentration camp survivor told the class the date of the camp's liberation in 1945, he mistook the date as Jan. 29. The survivor, said Mention-Schaar, had died this year -- on Jan. 29.
It's the sharing of stories like this that make a film festival with the creators intriguing.
Missing in the Bow Tie cinema lobby this year were the few small tables where film-goers and -makers could converse. The sit-down area was available when the festival was at SUNY Purchase, said Kern. She said she believes in the value of viewers able "to share their love and their opinions of films."
"This is the reason for a festival," she said, "It really creates a cultural event."
Also viewing these films are the thousands of students in the tri-state area that come to the festival, some 6,000 students in 10 years, Kern said. One hopes a good number of them saw the film "Once in a Lifetime."
Sitting in front of me for "The Gate" was Roger Lurie, whose wife, Claude, is French. He finds French films to have more depth than American films, he said.
Time did not allow catching one of the 10 comedies in the mix this year, including, "I Kissed a Girl." Kern described it as "about a gay man going straight."
"People were crying with laughter," she said.
Kern said she couldn't imagine such a film being made in America, "But the film portrays a vision of the world where homosexuality is no longer a special category.
"French films afford an expanded vision of what cinema can be," said Kern, talking about the support artistic cinema gets from the French government. Every movie ticket sold in France she said, has a portion held back for first-time film directors.
 

Anne W. Semmes 
Updated 10:09 am, Friday, April 3, 2015

http://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/Semmes-captivating-foreign-films-6175510.php#photo-7756676

 

Luc Hardy, un capital-risqueur chez les manchots

La Géorgie du Sud et Zavodovski sont des îles au large de l’Antarctique, qui appartiennent à l’archipel britannique des îles Sandwich du Sud. Elles sont très peu visitées. Peuplées de phoques, de manchots et d’albatros, balayées par les vents, elles représentent une bonne idée de ce qu’est le bout du monde.

Luc Hardy en revient tout juste. A 58 ans, ce Français qui vit dans le Connecticut a monté une expédition de cinq semaines en voilier autour de ces îles, à laquelle neuf personnes ont participé. De quoi couper radicalement les ponts avec son quotidien d’investisseur en capital-risque : en temps normal, Luc Hardy dirige un fonds, Sagax, qui investit dans des start-ups (comme Virtuoz ou le Lending Club).

Ce périple devait honorer le centenaire de l’expédition Endurance d’Ernest Shackleton. Cet explorateur anglo-irlandais a réalisé, au début du siècle passé, un voyage mythique vers ces terres inconnues, qui a tourné au drame. Le bateau a été emprisonné par les glaces, l’équipage dut se réfugier sur une banquise en dérive pendant deux mois. A bout de force, les hommes se sont séparés, attendant un hypothétique secours. Au terme d’une incroyable odyssée, Ernest Shackleton réussit à gagner la Géorgie du Sud, traverser cette île montagneuse et enneigée à pied, et les faire sauver.
Heureusement, il n’est rien arrivé de tel à Luc Hardy. Ce voyage avait en premier lieu un objectif scientifique : l’équipe a largué onze bouées Argo, qui émettent des données satellitaires et mesurent les courants, la salinité de l’eau, la température. Parmi les passagers figuraient une sportive suisse, Géraldine Fasnacht, qui a réalisé diverses prouesses en snowboard. L’équipe a aussi effectué, à pied, la traversée des monts de Géorgie du Sud (50 km), sur les traces d’Ernest Shackleton. Un film, réalisé par Bertrand Delapierre et produit par Luc Hardy, doit sortir au printemps 2015 (le trailer et d’autres vidéos visibles ici), et Luc Hardy publiera un livre de photos, comme pour ses précédentes expéditions.

Car il ne s’agissait pas, pour lui, d’un coup d’essai. Cela fait plus de dix ans que ce Français monte et finance, via son organisation Pax Artica, des voyages dans des lieux reculés. Avec en trame de fond, une volonté de montrer les effets du changement climatique – Luc Hardy est par ailleurs vice-président pour la France de Green Cross, l’ONG environnementale créée par Mikael Gorbatchev.

Ces derniers temps, on a pu apercevoir Luc Hardy sur les îles Aléoutiennes (au large de l’Alaska), sur des territoires tribaux en Papouasie-Nouvelle Guinée, sur l’île de Baffin dans le Canada Arctique, sur un glacier de l’Himalaya, ou encore à Barneo, un campement russe installé sur la banquise, à proximité du Pôle nord.

Mais foi d’aventurier, cette dernière expédition a été particulièrement ardue. Ces îles, proches du redoutable Cap Horn, sont en plein dans les « cinquantièmes hurlants » : entre le 50ème et le 60ème parallèle de l’hémisphère sud, les conditions météo sont parmi les pires au monde, avec des déferlantes terribles. « Le vent était si fort qu’il pouvait nous faire tomber. On était toujours en mer, parfois cinq jours de suite. Ca bougeait tout le temps. Tout le monde a été malade, même moi qui fait du bateau depuis toujours, même le capitaine », dit ce Breton, originaire de Saint-Malo.
Heureusement, il y avait de belles récompenses. Ces colonies de milliers de manchots en Georgie du Sud. Ces paysages « dramatiques », avec ces montagnes qui « tombent à pic dans l’eau ». « Il y a, dans ces îles, un côté hanté. On aurait pu tourner le Seigneur des Anneaux là-bas. » Et la satisfaction de fouler des terres désertes. « Pouvoir débarquer sur l’île Zavodovski, où à peine un bateau n’arrive à passer par an, c’était magique. Là-bas, je me disais : il n’y a peut être que dix personnes qui sont allées sur cette plage. C’est l’endroit le plus inaccessible dans lequel je sois allé ».

De retour aux Etats-Unis depuis la mi-novenbre, Luc Hardy a ouvert ses « 1.400 e-mails » et repris ses activités pour Sagax. Et pense déjà à ses prochains voyages : pourquoi pas l’Arctique russe, ou ces îles près du détroit de Béring… Ou bien un coin reculé en Amazonie.

Il ne se demande plus si cette passion est compatible avec son autre passion, le capital-risque. « Au début, quand j’ai commencé à mélanger les deux, je me disais : ‘cela ne va pas plaire’. Mais en fait, les gens autour de moi sont très enthousiastes. Il y a des parallèles assez évidents entre ces expéditions et le monde des start-ups : un état d’esprit très optimiste limite inconscient, une volonté de monter des projets, de surmonter des obstacles, de tester son endurance. D’ailleurs, les jeunes des start-ups avec qui je travaille, ils me disent tous : ‘on veut venir’ ! »

http://frenchmorning.com/luc-hardy-capital-risqueur-chez-les-manchots/
 

Thursday Nov 13

After 6 weeks spent mostly at sea we are about to complete our pursuit of Endurance. We have been sailing from South Georgia for the last five days and the Falklands Islands are in sight under a beautiful sun at 5am this Wednesday morning. We will be staying in and around the Falklands until our return flight this week-end.
Stay tuned: More reporting, flashbacks, photos, videos and future steps in the next few days and weeks.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Thursday Nov 6

After a very windy night (but not as windy as Camp 1 where we were forced to all sleep in one tent and were almost blown away) we got up at 5am. The sky was rather sunny and the wind had died down. It was time to go although it always manages to take an hour and a half to get ready (packing, melting snow for water and preparing a strong breakfast, undoing tent, redoing bags and sleds, …). We still had not decided which pass to take so Bertrand, our cameraman but also a very accomplished climber, proposed to check a couple of options while we finish getting ready. When he came back we decide to take the pass we had originally planned on based on his discovery that the other one was much further away.
The passage of the pass was very windy, which is typical, and the slope getting to it quite steep but we all make it without too much trouble.
The remainder of the climb down to Fortuna Bay was a series of patches of snow and rocks and tiny water flows that had to be crossed. This would not have been much of a problem with lighter equipment, but with our sleds it was much more of an ordeal.  We helped each other lower the sleds with ropes and together carry them across rocky areas.  In any event, we were glad that we had not attempted to finish this section the night before: we were tired, it was getting dark and we would have had to do everything with headlamps - not worth the risk. This is neither a re-enactment nor a competition.

Eventually we made it to the ‘beach’ of Fortuna Bay after more than three hours of strenuous effort. Penguins and seals are waiting for us and the Australis, our support boat, was anchored in the bay.
We finally ended the most important leg of our crossing and congratulate ourselves on the beach.

Approaching Breakwind Pass

Keith and Ollie, the British soldiers, crossing Breakwind Pass

Going down Breakwind Pass

Approaching Fortuna Beach

Arrived! With my sled – and the welcome committee in the background.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Friday Nov 7

Two days ago, Nov 5 was very exciting: We left the ship at 6:15am from Possession Bay to resume our climb and traverse. We were treated to a glorious morning, hardly any wind, blue sky. (This was consistent with the most recent weather forecast Ben received from his meteorologist friend in Chamonix.)
At 9:30am, we made it to the first landmark on our route, the Trident Pass. On our way there we could see two dots on the Trident mountain to our right: Bertrand and Geraldine had left two and a half hours earlier to climb this mountain (1947m) and ride it. They succeeded and rejoined our group at 12:30pm as we were traversing the long plain (15km) between the Trident Pass and Breakwind Pass, our next planned stop. That section was very long, monotonous and cold, especially since the morning sun disappeared behind clouds at midday. We reached a point just before Breakwind Pass where we decided to camp for the night as it was getting late (6pm), the visibility was low, it was cold and most of us were very tired after almost 11 hours of hiking. It would have been a risky to attempt to do the pass that evening and continue down on the other side to Fortuna Bay (another few kms). The end of the traverse will have to wait for the next day!

En route to the Trident pass, in the distance.

Arriving at the Trident Pass: cold, beautiful, windy…

 Arriving at our second camp in  the evening.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Wednesday Nov 5

Weather permitting we will depart for our camp 1 early Wednesday morning (6am). The equipment we recovered yesterday will be ready for us. We should have two full days of heavy skin skiing and hiking up and down the mountains and passes of South Georgia to reach Fortuna Bay on Thursday evening.
We are planning one night of camping in the mountains. The altitude is not very high (300-600m) and the terrain not that difficult. But ultimately we have no idea what the weather will be like even though we’re getting good weather forecasts at this moment. The weather changes constantly.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Tuesday Nov 4

We reached our initial camp this morning at 9am after an hour and a half of climbing.
As you can see in the photo, except for the few skis still sticking out our camp was totally buried in snow. It took us two hours to shovel all this snow out and uncover the sleds, duffel bags and the tent. We returned back to the boat this evening and will try to resume the crossing tomorrow morning.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Sunday Nov 2

At sea, somewhere between the South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia. A rare view of the sun setting.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Saturday Nov 1

On November 1, Zoe, our on board scientist, releases the 6th of 7 Surface Velocity Program Buoys (SVP). See this video.

 

We were sailing between the South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia where we hope to resume our crossing of the island which was interrupted due to bad weather on Oct 23.  These buoys measure surface temperature and salinity of sea water for approximately two years. Long term, they most likely follow the ACC (Antarctic Circumpolar Current). To follow the buoys over time, go to this link.

SOPRA , à travers son engagement sur l’eau, soutient l’expédition Pax Arctica Shackleton 2014

 Release of ARGO profiler float #6

 

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here