Films for information

Du vent dans les pales · Documentaire · France · 2000 · 7' Commentaire: français · Réalisateur: Marcel Dalaise · Production: Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, Paris

The wind turns to say that the future is not only in nuclear. The EOLE 2005 programme launched by the French authorities confirms this trend. But why is France so far behind, compared with Germany in particular, when it has the second largest wind potential in Europe?

The 1 MW PV Project/The Future of Solar Panels · Documentaire · Pays-Bas · 1999 · 17' Commentaire: anglais · Réalisateur: Remu NV · Production: Remu NV, Utrecht

The aim of this film, with the help of likeable solar creatures from space, is to prove that the construction of buildings with integral solar panels is not a utopian dream. The 1MW PV project realised in Holland is proof enough. It is the largest project of its type in the world today: 500 rooftops on a new housing estate have been successfully equipped.

The Balanced Energyhouse · Documentaire · Pays-Bas · 1998 · 12' Commentaire: anglais · Réalisateur: Remu NV · Production: Remu NV, Utrecht

The Remu company presents two prototype houses whose design is based on the balance between annual production and consumption of energy. The roof is completely covered with solar panels, the heating is ensured by a heat pump and the ventilation by heat retrieval. The architectural design welcomes the sun in.

Place in the Sun · Documentaire · Finlande/France · 1997 · 16' Commentaire: anglais · Réalisateur: Naps Systems Oy · Production: Fortum Naps, Noisiel

This film offers general information on solar energy systems for professional or private purposes.

Tillbud · Documentaire · Suède · 1999 ·15' Commentaire: suédois · Réalisateur: Mats Sundbom · Production: AdVeritas, Oxie/Malmö

The Swedish word "Tillbud" means "incidents". The film highlights actual incidents reported by employees of Vattenfall, the leading electricity company in Sweden. The aim is to avoid the accidents to which staff working with electrical energy tend to be prone. The two actors are like a real Laurel and Hardy duo as they accumulate mistakes they should avoid at all costs.

Latvenergo-Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow · Documentaire · Lettonie · 1999 · 10' Commentaire: anglais · Réalisateur: V. Eglitis · Production: Latvenergo, Riga

In 1999, Latvenergo, the largest producer of electricity in Latvia and heating in Riga, celebrated its 30th anniversary. The film is not only a retrospective of the company using images from the film archives, but also a look ahead based on the company's encouraging propects for future development.

10 ans au service du développement durable · Documentaire · Canada · 1998 · 20' Commentaire: français · Réalisateur: Groupe Innovation · Production: Institut de l'énergie et de l'environnement de la francophonie (IEPF), Québec

After telling the story of the setting up of the Institute for energy and environment of the French speaking nations, and the emergence of common energy programmes, this films draws the conclusions of 10 years of activity. It also provides thoughts on the future and the means needed to create the conditions for sustainable development and concludes with the necessity to place solidarity at the heart of our hesitations, prospects and common ventures.

Energia Energia · Documentaire · Brésil · 2000 · 26' Commentaire: portugais · Réalisateur: Alberto Flaksman · Production: Conspiração Filmes, Rio de Janeiro

This film takes a look at the different forms of energy available in Brazil (oil, coal, gas, hydroelectric and nuclear) as well as the main renewable sources (sun, wind, biomass). The country must embrace progress and can only do so by making the right energy choices based on awareness of the problems. The recommended course is to avoid the traps encoutered by the industrial nations taking into account the high cost of alternative energy sources. The balance between material progress and environmental and energy costs is the key to Brazil's future success.

Renewable Energy : Clean Power for Wisconsin · Documentaire · USA · 1999 · 26' Commentaire: anglais · Réalisateur: David Hestad · Production: Wisconsin Public Television, Madison

The state of Wisconsin imports practically all its energy. But a definite effort is being made to reduce this dependency by the growing use of renewable energy sources, including solar, photoelectric, wind, hydroelectric and biomass.

Cette bonne vieille terre · Documentaire · France · 1999 · 52' Commentaire: français · Réalisateur: Philippe Truffault · Production: Dune, Paris

The ancients imagined it flat; Jules Vernes depicted it as hollow. The earth has always been an object of conjecture and men of science and explorers have forever rivalled in imagination to find the ultimate description. Even today it remains unpredictable and full of mystery. The film evokes the Empedocle project which has been launched by the European Space Agency: a scientific research programme which will benefit all the people living in regions of high volcanic activity.

River Crafting · Documentaire · Islande · 2000 · 26' Commentaire: anglais · Réalisateur: Valdimar leifsson · Production: Lifsmynd, Reykjavik

This film evokes the building of the most recent hydroelectric station for Landsvikjun, giving us an insight into the different phases of construction as well as the daily life of the workers on site. The film shows the interaction between man and nature through the care taken by man to achieve the necessary integration of the station in a natural environment.

The Prometheus Principle: An Inexhaustible Source - Solar Energy · Documentaire · Allemagne · 2000 · 29' Commentaire: anglais · Réalisateurs: Carl A. Fechner, Nicola Enderle · Production: focus-film GmbH, Immendingen

The authors of this documentary invite us to join them on a trip from California to the Ruhr Valley taking in all the solar applications on the way. An alternative to fossil energy must be found sooner or later among the renewable energy sources. A group of ShellSolar experts look at the problem. This is a film to turn the tables on a lot of hackneyed beliefs.

The Strategy of Renewability - Biomass · Documentaire · Allemagne · 1999 · 29' Commentaire: anglais · Réalisateur: Carl A. Fechner · Production: focus-film GmbH, Immendingen

This film opens our eyes to the wide range of applications possible using biomass by showing the merits of 9 examples in Europe. The example of Växjö, in Sweden, speaks for itself: wood residues provide heat for the whole town.

Der Stoff aus dem die Zukunft ist - Energie aus Wasserstoff · Documentaire · Allemagne · 2000 · 43' Commentaire: allemand · Réalisateurs: Carl A. Fechner, Martin Pehnt · Production: focus-film GmbH, Immendingen

Fuel cells for boats, clean cars, water purification and heating stations which produce electricity without polluting the atmosphere: the 21st century may well belong to hydrogen. To what extent can this abundant and multiform combustible gas take the place, even partially, of fossil fuels? An interesting question to which the film offers equally interesting answers.

Wärme, die aus der Sonne kommt - Ein Solarthermische Praktikum · Documentaire · Allemagne · 1998 · 43' Commentaire: allemand · Réalisateur: Carl A. Fechner · Production: focus-film GmbH, Immendingen

Producing heat from the sun's rays is no longer a thing of the future: many apartment buildings and individual houses are today equipped with solar panels. This film answers all the questions that can be asked about how these installations work, how they can be fitted, and the technical aspects involved.

Wir sorgen für Spannung. Rund um die Uhr · Documentaire · Suisse · 1998 · 14' Commentaire: allemand · Réalisateur: Werner Hadorn · Production: Büro Cortesi, Bienne

Since it was founded in 1908, EKZ (Entreprises Electriques du Canton de Zurich) supplies electricity to the Canton of Zurich. The company produces and distributes the current to more than 250,000 households, 900,000 people and 2000 firms. The spectator is invited to watch hour by hour for one full day and night exactly what happens on the other side of the plug.

Le chauffage automatique au bois · Documentaire · France · 1999 · 15' Commentaire: français · Réalisateur: Eric Simard · Production: Jonathan communications, Besançon

The development of automatic energy production from wood has been constantly increasing over the last twenty years. The film explains the system of automatic heaters using wood, taking a look at supply, boilers, heating networks and the latest technological advances.

L'énergie du futur au coeur de la Vallée du Rhin · Documentaire · France · 2000 · 26' Commentaire: français · Réalisateur: Joël Becker · Production: Corina International, Strasbourg

In 1987, France and Germany set up a programme unique in the world to develop research in deep geothermal technology with the aim of exploiting the heat from broken rocks. The temperature of the earth increases with depth by about 2°C for every 100 meters. In the example presented here, at Soulz-sous-Forêts in Alsace, the rocks increase the temperature of the water by more than 4°C.

Estamos Avanzando: las mujeres en la ciencia y la tecnologia · Documentaire · Colombie · 2000 · 17' Commentaire: espagnol · Réalisateur: Martha Lanza Meneses · Production: Petro Canada, La Paz

This film broaches the problem, in Bolivia, of women's integration in the professional, scientific and technical spheres and the obstacles they come up against when they wish to join gas and oil companies in particular.

The Atlas Experiment · Documentaire · Pays-Bas · 2000 · 18' Commentaire: anglais · Réalisateur: Bob van Gyzel · Production: Jaap Klein, Amsterdam

This film describes the first moments which followed the Big Bang, the initial explosion which gave birth to our universe. To recreate these initial conditions scientists are working on the construction for the beginning of the third millennium of the biggest particle accelerator in the world: The "Large Hadron Collider" (LHC) at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva. The film explores the ATLAS detector which is destined to be one of the most important experiments ever performed to validate the present standard model.

Oil and Gas Formation · Documentaire · Grande-Bretagne · 2000 · 13' Commentaire: anglais · Réalisateur: Richard Smith · Production: Take 3 Productions, Londres

What is oil really? How did it form? How is it used? This documentary details in a very clear and instructive way all the different phases from the formation of oil and gas to the consequences of their combustion. Experiments carried out in schools, technical images, diagrams and animation all contribute to a variety of entertaining sequences.