Yann Arthus-Bertrand: “I want to photograph love”

He had photographed The earth seen from the skynow Yann Arthus-Bertrand is interested in its inhabitants seen from the ground.

The culmination of a long work of several years, France, family album is a book published by Actes Sud, as well as an exhibition at the Paris City Hall and France, a love story hits theaters Wednesday, November 5.

For this work, the photographer traveled across France, setting up his traveling studio in 80 locations. “We asked people to come with their families, with their colleagues, and all this created a sort of bubble of love. What we experienced in this studio is the exact opposite of what we see in the National Assembly: these are people who reach out to each other and people who love each other.”

A friendly and generous France

For Yann Arthus-Bertrand, this is a response to the violence that he can no longer tolerate around him. He assures that this goodwill that he was able to capture is also a reality of France today: “There is a friendly, generous France, proud of what it does. It’s the one I want to show.” Don’t tell him that it’s naive and that we don’t move forward with good feelings: “I don’t really care! There are 20 million volunteers in this country, they are the backbone of France. I admire them.”

The photographer is inexhaustible in front of these photos which sit – like paintings in a castle – in the heart of the salons of honor of the Paris City Hall. He feels a particular tenderness for an unpublished family photo, in prison, of women detained in the company of guards. “I wanted to do social work,” the director of the place told me, “and I did it.”

Die with a smile

Through these photos, through this film, Yann Arthus-Bertrand wants to highlight those who are often invisible. It is also the approach of a man who is about to turn 80, who says that he has never forgotten the response of a woman in Madagascar to whom he asked what her dream was: “She thought about it and said to me, I want to die with a smile. Am I going to succeed in dying with a smile? In any case, I’m going to do my best to do good to those around me.”

Do good by filming and photographing those who do good. A successful bet for Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

The exhibition, France, a family albumat Paris town hall until November 2.

The book, France, a family albumwith Hervé Le Bras, published by Actes Sud.

The movie France, a love storyco-directed with Michael Pitiot, in theaters on November 5.