Born in Rwanda, Éliane Umuhire has lived in Grenoble for two years. A city showing her ninth film as an actress, “Planet B”, which will be released on December 25. If it takes place in 2039, it evokes many aspects linked to our time.
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Releasing a film on Christmas Day does not guarantee a fairy tale. On December 25, Grenoble resident Éliane Umuhire will be starring in the film Planet Bfilmed partly in the capital of the Alps.
This dystopian science fiction film depicts an authoritarian state that hunts down and crushes activists deemed “ecoterrorists.” Her character, Hermes, is a climate exile who fights to help others stay in the land.
France 3 Alpes: If it is a science fiction film, we recognize many of the settings of the city of Grenoble such as the three towers, the Bastille or even the Saint-Bruno district. Is it impressive to see your city in a futuristic environment like the film?
Éliane Umuhire: It's an immense pleasure to see how a city we know, the neighborhoods we know, the streets we know, can become a movie set. How we can transform them. And then also all this game that we manage to find, of transforming a city.
When we think of France in 2039, we cannot imagine what Grenoble could look like. For example, the Saint-Bruno district is completely unrecognizable. That's all the genius that can be put into the picture.
In the film, the picture painted is particularly dark. Is this how you imagine 2039?
It's difficult to project yourself into the future. I don't think the director wanted to show an exact picture of what 2039 would be like. It's more an apprehension, or a way of exorcising the fears we have about the future.
Fortunately this cinema exists and that we also stand up to campaign and carry out actions that allow us not to be paralyzed by fear and eco-anxiety. The question is: what do I do with this anxiety? Do I accept being paralyzed by this or what do I put in place?
The film has a dark side, yes. But also a bright side. The virtual prison is surprisingly bright. It's a place where you want to stay for a long time and it makes me think of the metaverse we're starting to talk about. The fact that some people might decide to stay in the metaverse, to eat there, to do their shopping there… We really are in this virtual prison.
There is a lot of talk about global warming in the film, its title Planet B also makes reference to it. Is this a subject that particularly affects you?
Yes, absolutely. When I was on set [de France 3 Alpes ce vendredi 13 décembre, NDLR]we were talking about Gresse-en-Vercors and these ski resorts which are in the process of closing. A few months ago, we had landslides at La Bérarde.
We are in a region that is feeling the effects of climate change, whether we like it or not. But we are also in a territory which is very involved with associations which play the role of whistleblower.
Being a resident of Grenoble, I am quite informed on these subjects and I am very sensitive to them. I really like hiking, I find a lot of joy and a lot of peace when I'm in the mountains or in a forest. I wonder if the next generations will be able to enjoy this nature as I do today. These are subjects that touch me greatly.
But the film does not only address this theme…
By being part of this film, it wasn't just for the theme of ecology. This is also everything the film addresses, like migration. Today I am French but I was not born here. I arrived in the territory and therefore, there is everything that we transform when we arrive in a new territory, how we integrate. There is the effort we make to integrate, but there is also the effort that society makes to welcome us.
In the film, my character is one of the climate exiles who are not welcomed by the system, who the system wants to erase but who do not let themselves be defeated and who stand up to continue to exist in the darkness of this society. My character has a QR code store. Currently, in France, people in exile who wish to stay in the country need a residence permit. In this virtual France of the film, they have a QR code in their eye which expires. My character makes counterfeits to help others stay on the land.
This film is also about sisterhood, it is women who help each other to get out of these crises. All these subjects of migration, climate change, sisterhood are current subjects. I find that this is the strength of science fiction films which allow us to talk about the present despite their anticipatory outlook.
