Born in 1972 in Los Angeles to filmmaker and environmentalist, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Céline is also the granddaughter of perhaps the most famous ocean explorer of them all - Jacques Cousteau. To add to that, her brother Fabien is also an ocean explorer and shark advocate; her uncle Philippe was an oceanographer and photographer who tragically died in a plane crash near Lisbon in 1979; and his son Philippe (Céline's cousin) is an environmentalist too!
 |
| Jacques (left) onboard the Calypso (photo: ilgiornaledeimarinai.it) |
Despite those early brushes with the environment, after going to the UN International School in New York City, she went on to Skidmore College, where she studied Psychology, graduating in 1994. She found work in psychiatric hospitals in Saratoga Springs, and then Santa Fe, NM, before attending the International and Intercultural Management School for International Training in Brattleborom VT, to get her Masters.
She also found work over the years as a jewellery designer, doing some work for Swarovski, and also, in 2017, producing a sustainable collection based around the theme of coral bleaching, with Deborah Milner, entitled 'Regenerating the Reef'.
Getting into film:
Cousteau only really got into the film world in 2006, when she helped her father when he was working on his PBS series, 'Ocean Adventures'. She was assisting with logistics, planning and production, but then got put in front of the camera.
CauseCentric Productions:
Cousteau is the founder and CEO of CauseCentric Productions, which produces short films that aim to promote the voices and stories of grassroots organisations and individuals working on environmental and socio-cultural issues - to help "some of Earth's quietest inhabitants." They have worked on projects featuring people from Peru, Uganda, Papaua New Guinea, Mexico and the Amazon.
She also established the Céline Cousteau Film Fellowship, which equips young people to make films and motivate change through storytelling.
Contiki:
Travel company, Contiki, wanted to start contributing to marine specific conservation, and get guidance and have someone become their sustainability partner and spokesperson on the subject - approaching Céline to fill this role.
They started with Shark Savers in the Galapagos Islands, setting up a programme that tells the story of what people are discovering when they travel with Contiki. She produced a film about the relationship between Contiki and their conservation projects by showing what the projects are.
TreadRight Foundation:
This was set up by the Travel Corporation, a family of travel companies (including Contiki), with the aim of creating a conservation strategy, rather than just throwing money at a series of projects. They aim to expose their customers and a wider audience to the things they are doing and trying to achieve.
They have now worked on more than 50 sustainability projects, including the Wilderness Fund Africa, Cape Leopard Trust and Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative. Cousteau is an ambassador for them. hoping to get people to critically think about wildlife orientated tourist activities they may take part in;
"She has an incredible understanding and deep appreciation for the symbiotic relationship between travel and how that helps one develop a true appreciation and respect for the planet. " (Brett Tollman - founder of TreadRight)
Tribes on the Edge:
Her big project has been centred around a return to the Amazon, a place she knew from childhood. It came about following a request by a contact in the Brazilian Amazon. They wanted her to tell the story of a particular area which has a large number of indigenous inhabitants, who suffer from a lot of health issues, including Hepatitis A, B, C and Delta.
Cousteau's plan was to put together a multi-layered project, starting with audio-visual telling of the stories, followed by a full length documentary and campaign. This would all be the starter for a series of projects and initiatives, "that will empower them through film-making and radio to tell their own stories, and hopefully create an education and medical system that actually functions."
The works focus on six tribes in the Javari Valley, a place she had visited back in 2007. This is an area that has been under threat since the first gold miners and rubber tappers arrived there in the late 1800's - a threat that is now replaced by that of illegal loggers, fishing and mining. Medicines are scarce, and there is little refrigeration available for vaccines anyway.
The film she produced was observational, trying not to be contrived. Cousteau said of it that, "this isn't just about indigenous people in the Amazon. By protecting indigenous people, we can prevent deforestation, as there is no deforestation [allowed] on indigenous land, and we can mitigate climate change and safeguard the biodiversity tha might introduce future medicines to the wider world."
Cousteau's philosophy centres around, "Don't try and save the world. Instead save one thing at a time." In other words, start with something tangible to make it more accessible. But things, like changing environmental policy and scientific research, have to be done, but "they need to happen in parallel with your everyday citizen doing their part."
Well said.
Research:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9line_Cousteau
https://nuvomagazine.com/magazine/autumn-2018/celine-cousteau
https://www.itmustbenow.com/feature/movers-mavericks/interview-celine-s-cousteau/
https://www.contiki.com/six-two/5-heroes-who-are-leading-the-way-for-sustainability/
https://whywaittoseetheworld.com/interview-with-celine-cousteau-on-conservation-and-sustainability-with-contiki/
No comments:
Post a Comment