Manon Chancé

First published in 1898, H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds was a veritable literary and cultural revolution. It laid the foundations for modern sci-fi by telling the first- ever story of an alien invasion. A political and moral fable, the novel uses science fiction as a tool to raise our awareness and alert the modern world to the dangers and risks inherent in industrial, scientific and technological progress. It is high time to rediscover this seminal book.

In the industrial and maritime city of Le Havre, Soren and Karving, two 14-year-old friends, are passionate about fishing. In conflict with authority and failing at school, fishing has become their space of freedom and a unique way to project themselves into the future: more than anything, Soren wants to become a fisherman and Karving a fisherman-reporter. As the pressure of their exams mounts, and without their diploma they can kiss their dream life goodbye, they will have to compromise between their passion and reality.

In the mountains of Central China lives an ethnic minority, the Qiang. They have maintained their rural way of life and live close to nature. In 2008 they were hit by a deadly earthquake and their population dropped to 300,000. This documentary explores a spring, a summer and an autumn with four of these people.

Paul, a call center employee, is completely burnt out. One Friday 13, a television news report seems to be a signal that he must take action. Determined to give concrete expression to his gesture, he flees to the mountain, where he'll experience a unique event.