The Crau Plain Grasshopper

Film

Images from the film

Research Images

THE SECRET OF THE STEPPE

Protecting the Crau Plain Grasshopper also means protecting the local area and vice-versa. The grasshopper is at serious risk of extinction, bringing the whole habitat under threat. Laurent Tatin has a PhD in Ecology and coordinates the grasshopper conservation strategy and is the lynchpin of this cross-disciplinary project combining science, art and conservation.

Together with filmmaker, Eric Serre, writer and illustrator, Léa Cluzel, and script-writer, Aurélie Buron, the team jointly created a new research and communication tool. Les Fées Spéciales and biologists from the Coussouls de Crau National Nature Reserve then combined their arts and knowledge to provide a new insight into modern-day environmental issues.

As well as a communication and interpretation tool, animated films avoid harming natural environments compared to conventional documentaries where teams and all their equipment are sent out to make film on-site. Animation, by contrast, is an artistic, economic and ecological approach.

The star of the film is the grasshopper, or more specifically, Prionotropis rhodanica. Not as high-profile as a tiger or elephant, the cricket nevertheless plays the part of an ambassador for animals threatened with extinction, which is pretty rare as insects are still largely ignored by the public despite the pivotal role they play in sustaining life.

Credits

Produce by the co-administrator of the Coussouls de Crau National Nature Reserve  (Conservatoire Espace Naturel PACA – Chambre agriculture13)

In partnership with WWF, National Géographic, DREAL, Conseil départemental 13, Carrière de la Menudelle

Scientific officer: Laurent Tatin

Les Fées Spéciales

Director: Eric Serre

Sound composition: Louis-Louise Kay

Drawing: Léa Cluzel

Screenplay: Aurélie Buron

Voice: Alina Constantin

3D animators : Ghislaine Serre / Léa Cluzel