“ 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 .”
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