Continuing their mission to amplify environmental messages, directors Sil van der Woerd and Jorik Dozy at Studio Birthplace take on big oil in new Greenpeace work protesting the greenwashing efforts of French energy giant TotalEnergies.

Jorik Dozy and Sil van der Woerd: “There is an urgent need for accountability and transformation within the fossil fuel industry to avoid the worst effects of climate breakdown – sponsoring major sporting events to greenwash their dirty business has to be stopped.

“At the core of the film, called TotalPollution, is an iconic visual metaphor: filling the Stade De France stadium in Paris with the immense volume of oil extracted by the global fossil fuels industry, and delivering the fact that it fills up entirely every three hours and thirty-seven minutes.
 

“The biggest challenge was the massive oil simulations dynamically interacting with the crowds and players. Some of the simulations contain more than 1.5 billion voxels (3D pixels), which require lots of computing power and patience.”

 
“The production commenced in early May and took three months to complete. A faithful replica of Stade de France was created (where the first game of the Rugby World Cup will be played) and then populated with a crowd of 80,000 mannequins and two rugby teams.

“The biggest challenge was the massive oil simulations dynamically interacting with the crowds and players. Some of the simulations contain more than 1.5 billion voxels (3D pixels), which require lots of computing power and patience.

“Through very precise planning and digital storyboarding, the team was able to complete these massive simulations within the deadline and with a very minimal crew.

“The release of TotalPollution faced a rocky start when the film was leaked and a day before the launch the Rugby World Cup threatened Greenpeace with legal action if it were to release the video. On launch day TotalEnergies issued an official statement to the press, further greenwashing its image.”
 
 

 
Client: Greenpeace France

Production: Studio Birthplace
Director: Jorik Dozy, Sil van der Woerd
UK reps: Park Village

VO: Seán Burke, Guillaume Meurice