“At times, this
corruption
is so visible
that I would be
laughing if the
consequences
weren t so
damaging to
the millions of
smokers who
could have been
saved by vaping”
The end result is about more than entertainment. The Tarantinesque
violence and dark humour are vehicles for an important message:
vaping is under attack and it’s up to us to defend it, wherever in
the world we find ourselves.
“We are relatively lucky in France and the United Kingdom thanks to
the actions of our activists and medical professionals,” Dominique
said. “But there are countries where selling vape products or just
being a vaper could have you sent to jail; countries where vaping
is prohibited even in vaping shops, countries where the tobacco
industry is so powerful that it dictates its laws to the rulers.”
With so much evidence on our side and so much at stake, the fight
can be frustrating.
Dominique continued:
“At times, this corruption is so visible that I would be laughing if
the consequences weren’t so damaging to the millions of smokers
who could have been saved by vaping.”
Thanks in part to funding from within the industry and donations
from private citizens, the film features impressive production values
backed-up by a technical team comprised entirely
of vapers.
“For the rest of the team, we had Michael Hammoudi, Pascal Henriot
and Laurent Caffarel, one the founders of SOVAPE. We relied upon
our vaping friends to find fifty volunteers who were each given their
specific role to play.”
Dominique is proud to have created such a professional film that
breaks new ground for vaping advocacy. An 8K Ultra HD fiction
short with an important message, all, incredibly filmed in just
one day.
“As we were looking at the storyboard on the day before the filming,
the technical team and the main actor, Jean Marie Lamour, thought
I was a mad man for trying to make the whole thing in a day. But
we did it!”
The film has already picked up significant traction since the Global
Forum of Nicotine (GFN) in Warsaw, Poland where Dominique was
rewarded with a gong for Best Director.
Aaron Biebert, director of A Billion Lives and curator of the film
festival, informed Dominique of the award by text message.
“I was in the middle of the historic city of Warsaw when a friend
present at the conference sent me an SMS saying, ‘where are you?
You won!’
“I was truly astonished. I was so happy for the whole team, because
this film is above all the work of a team of passionate vapers.”
The hope now is for the film to be picked up and screened at other
vaping events in France and beyond. In the meantime, it’s available
for vapers to stream for free and share via Facebook and YouTube.
As for what’s next, keep your eyes on the silver screen for more
from Dominique in 2019.
“See you next year for a new bigger, longer and stronger film.”
VMC | 71