Vivendi

Arielle Saracco, Head of Canal+ Original Programming, Canal+ Group (ASDR 2008)

Using content to promote Sustainable Development

« Canal+ programs provide a forum for sustainable development issues every day. These issues include solidarity, the fight against exclusion, discrimination, discovering other cultures, protecting the environment, etc. Various areas are explored, backed by of all our departments, especially Original Creation, which produces fiction and documentaries. Within the realm of fiction we have continued to explore our recent history with Résolution 819 – starring Benoît Magimel. It is the story of a French policeman attached to the International Court of Justice to investigate the Srebrenica massacres. Another program called La Traque, starring Yvan Attal, tells the story of the Klarsfelds’ search for Klaus Barbie.
As we do every year, the New Trilogy gives amateur writers and directors an opportunity to pen their first television series. On the documentary side, as part of our collection of prime-time films dealing with topical issues, the focus was on the everyday life of poor workers, probation issues, the state of psychiatry in France, developments in the quarters of the 93rd department – with the magnificent film by Yamina Benguigui entitled Mémoire d’un territoire – and how ordinary citizens fight pedophilia in Asia. Our Emergences time slot (about new trends) reports on new movements and proposes novel scripts, showing us in particular what a year with no gas would be like, or how everyone’s happiness depends on trust in their country’s institutions. The Documentary-Film time slot in turn opens a glimpse of the world, via the committed view of a handful of great international directors. Our cinema documentaries also offer a window onto the world by analyzing the revival of the film industry in Mexico, China, Rumania and Israel. And of course every week our curiosity about other cultures is satisfied by our New Explorers, who create greater understanding by helping us to get to know the people around us better. The Original Creation label is about looking at our society and the world from a relevant, committed viewpoint, to dare, innovate and promote new ideas. »