Shooting Diary

A short stopover in Miami, and directly on to Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonia, situated in the middle of the jungle. The city is well-known in Germany, probably because of films such as Werner Herzog's “Fitzcarraldo”, starring Klaus Kinski. Our main reason to visit Brazil was a different one, however: the “green lung” of the world, the Amazon rainforest.

Any film about renewable energy must take into account the rainforest as the world's largest CO2 deposit. Whenever CO2 emissions are calculated and a global concept for climate protection is developed, the prevention of further deforestation in the Amazon has to play a central role.

In order to demonstrate this connection and to integrate innovative projects aiming to preserve the rainforest, we arranged shooting dates with Bianca Jagger. She is popular around the world as a human rights activist; in addition, she is chairwoman of the World Future Council and has engaged in promoting renewable energies for many years. Through Bianca Jagger we also got to know the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS), a non-profit organisation with the slogan, “The rainforest is worth more when standing than when falling.”

In order to see what this means in practice, we visited the “Juma Reserve RED Project” – a one-hour flighfrom Manaus. Here, the inhabitants of the rainforest are supported financially and socially by building schools, establishing internet connections, and providing access to electricity from renewable sources.

We also visited a research station which closely observes the development of the rainforest, enabling them to calculate exactly how much CO2 enters the atmosphere every day.

In the middle of the rainforest, with the air humidity close to 95%, you really get the impression to have reached one of the focus points of our planet. In such a moment it is hard to believe that not everyone is fighting hard to preserve this wonderful gift of nature. When Bianca Jagger gets out of the jeep, she takes a deep breath and smiles: “I really missed the rainforest.”

Brazil was an overwhelming experience of nature. And yes – soon a longing sets in, a desire to return, back to the pink dolphins in the Amazon river, back to the friendly and open-hearted people, back to the sound of Samba and Salsa.