‘Nothing has changed and today it’s even worse’: The director of The Name of the Earth was inspired by his own story.

Spoilers – Warning, the article below contains potential spoilers. If you do not want to know its contents, please do not read the following…

In the moving family and agricultural mural In the Name of the Earth, broadcast tonight on France 2, filmmaker Edouard Bergeon tells the story of his own family, and in particular of his farmer father, who struggles with debt and significant financial difficulties. Which will unfortunately have dramatic results.

“The film is based on my experience. I am a great descendant of peasants, the son and grandson of peasants, both on my mother’s side and on my father’s side”– said the director in the press conference of the film. “

In the Name of the Earth is a family saga that takes a human perspective on the evolution of the agricultural world over the last 40 years.

Horrifyingly involved in current events, Bergeon’s feature film, directed by Guillaume Canet, offers a disturbing echo as never before to the recent demonstrations that have mobilized the world of French agriculture.

• On behalf of the earth: How far did Guillaume Canet go to prepare for the role?

The story of Christian Bergeon

Released in 2019, it particularly recalls several consecutive events (in particular two fires) that gradually destroyed Christian Bergeon’s family farm. At Brut’s microphoneIn the land of his childhood, his son Edward, who became a film director, recalled his painful memories:

“Actually, in 1997, during this fire, my father gave up. For more than two years, he began to descend into hell. Depression from which he did not recover. (…) It was a spiral, a disgusting descent for more than two years, where he locked himself in his room, where he no longer wanted to see his farm, his work, until at one point he took pesticides because he was looking for a way out.

“It’s worse today.”

The story told on Earth’s behalf is, unfortunately, far from an isolated case.

“Every day in France there is a farmer who kills himself. There in 2019”Eduard Bergon continued at Brut’s microphone, paraphrasing the box with which his feature ended.

“My father, it was 20 years ago. But we can say that nothing has changed and today it is even worse. Farming today is as difficult as it was 20 years ago, and maybe even more, because a third of farmers live. For less than 350 euros a month.”

According to research provided by MSA France infoIn 2016, about 1.5 farmers committed suicide per day (this figure is not estimated), in 2010 and 2011, it was about once every two days.

(Re)discover the trailer for ‘In the Name of the Earth’…