Recently, we, the students of WIS, have had the privilege to interview a famous French filmmaker during our trip to Gobabeb. His name is Jean-Christophe Chatton, and we are here to tell you about him, and his work.
Mr Jean-Christophe first started his journey not expecting to become a journalist, narrating documentaries. However, while studying, he found people who did this, and he became inspired to do the same, becoming a journalist. He made the decision to become a filmmaker at the age of 25. Though his parents did not influence this decision, they were still proud, and happy to see his name on the television.
In his career as a filmmaker, he has traveled all across the globe, including the USA, Australia, and France, which was of course not out of the way for him.
Currently, he is working on pursuing a scientific documentary about clouds, which is what brought him to Gobabeb in the first place. This would be a big documentary for him, and it would be quite long. Quoting him, he says, “Clouds are everywhere in the world.” “They are here, they are all over the world, and so, we interviewed a place of scientific importance in the United states, South Africa, Australia, France, and here, Namibia.”
When saying this, he is referring to the places that will be of importance during the documentary, and where he will visit. During the interview, he stated that he would not be seen on the documentary, and would just be doing the commentary of it.
His documentary, once finished, will be airing on France5, which is on French television. Like all of his scientific works, this documentary will be translated into english.
Following the flow of conversation, we began talking about his role, and he mentioned again that while he does do the commentary, he says he is a journalist. His definition of journalism was not somebody who reports on the wars and political happenings, but someone who verifies information, and then gives it back.
Mr Jean-Christophe then expressed why he found journalism a beautiful and noble profession and pursuit for others. He even said that it might be the best! The following explains why.
Mr Jean-Christophe loves his career because he finds that he never does anything twice, everything is always different, and if you have the luck to work on a subject, you have the chance to travel. He says it gives the chance to see people who are not so fortunate to be wealthy, and you actually just have to have ideas. You can also explore a wide range of topics. For example, he did a documentary on the snipers of the French army, and now on clouds. The opportunities are endless.
To conclude, We thank Mr Jean-Christophe Chatton for his time, and yours for reading this.
Merci!
Amandine, Angela, and Ethan
French Translation
Récemment, nous, trois étudiants de WIS, avons eu le chance d`interroger un fameux chercheur français pendant notre voyage à Gobabeb. Il s'appelle Jean-Christophe Chatton et nous sommes là pour vous parler de lui et de son travail.
M. Jean-Christophe a commencé son parcours sans s'attendre à devenir journaliste, en racontant des documentaires. Cependant, pendant ses études, il a trouvé des gens qui faisaient cela et il a eu envie de faire de même et de devenir journaliste. Au cours de l'interview, il s'est présenté comme un journaliste plutôt que comme un cinéaste, car ce faisant, il constate que son rôle consiste davantage à trouver des informations vérifiées, puis à commenter et à raconter les documentaires. Il a pris la décision de devenir cinéaste à l'âge de 25 ans. Même si ses parents n'ont pas influencé cette décision, ils étaient toujours fiers et heureux de voir son nom à la télévision.
Au cours de sa carrière de cinéaste, il a voyagé partout dans le monde, notamment aux États-Unis, en Australie et en France, ce qui n'était bien sûr pas un obstacle pour lui.
Actuellement, il travaille sur un documentaire sur les nuages, ce qui l'a amené à Gobabeb en premier lieu.
Mr Derrek Berkompas
Middle School Principal
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