Brussels, the Wild Side

A film by Bernard Crutzen on the media treatment of the crisis by the French-speaking Belgian media. What they say, how they say it, and what they keep quiet. With particular attention to the notion of “conspiracy”.

They have returned from the east and settled near the Basilica overlooking the city. The rooks have been back in Brussels for ten years now. They have had to make room for themselves among the other corvids - crows, jackdaws, magpies - and the many species that have invaded the city: peregrine falcons, parakeets, Egyptian geese, Canada geese, etc. Faced with these newcomers, city dwellers react according to their sensitivity to wild nature. Some fear for the local species and would like to chase away the intruders. Others are exasperated by the croaking and chattering. Some are pleased that the capital of Europe is home to an increasingly varied biodiversity, despite the incessant overflight of airliners.

Kepone, also known as chlordecone, is an endoctrine disruptor invented in the U.S.. Because of it, the number of prostate cancers in Martinique as well as the number of premature babies have never stopped rising. It has infected a third of the agricultural lands, tubers, meat, eggs, has polluted sources and rivers, affected fish and seafood.

After "Ceci n'est pas un complot" (This is not a conspiracy), Bernard Crutzen presents "La loi, la liberté" (The law, freedom). A documentary (1h03) about a crisis that has become more political than health-related. The film focuses on the situation in Belgium, using an original approach: that of a letter written by the author to his father, a retired doctor.