“What is the genesis of this documentary?
The collaboration with Canal + was not initially planned. But, with Louis Villers (director at Canal +), we had already worked together two years ago. In the spring, he contacted me again for a report on containment, which is called “Window”. It was very poetic, very human, and I loved it. So I called Louis, I told him about my project and he said: ‘This is great, I absolutely want to do it’. He was like a fool. I knew I was putting an extraordinary subject in his hands. I didn’t know how it was going to end but I trusted him a lot. However, we set our conditions straight away. On the image I wanted to show of my sport, the reality of things, that he would have to adapt to my training, etc. When he was with us on the boat, I felt good because he was discreet. And then there were times when I had to say to him ‘Today you are not coming’. Little by little, we got to know each other well.
Apnea requires a lot of concentration and serenity. How do you experience a world record attempt with a camera constantly on you?
Louis already works alone, that’s what I like about him. But inevitably that adds pressure. There were times when I had to distance myself. On the first attempt (in August in Nice, editor’s note), I felt the pressure. There is this idea in mind that you have to find solutions to avoid thinking too much about this. But hey, me, once I’m in the water, I don’t think about anything, I’m in my bubble. I preferred to take this stress (of the presence of the camera), this little weight on my shoulders, to be able to tell this story through a film. It almost cost me my world record but I wanted to tell my story, to shake up the rules of my sport and to do it with optimal safety. We even brought in a drone from Poland, so that they could see me at the bottom, so it’s an extra camera, which follows me to more than 100 meters deep. We must effectively manage all these elements.
The documentary poster. (F. Seguin)
Tell us how you experienced the key scene of the record validation in front of the camera.
Thanks to having started my relationship with the media early, I am becoming more and more unfiltered. It’s me and the rest I don’t care, I don’t think. At the end of the movie, I take Charlotte (Benoît, his companion, editor’s note) in my arms. I am at the level of the boat ladder and I fall in tears, there are so many emotions at this point that the camera no longer exists. There is nothing left around. And there is a beautiful relationship with Louis that has been created. He was filming the exit where I exploded with joy and he was crying at the camera. He had been so steeped in adventure that he couldn’t help it. I think it transpires in the movie. “
“The wisdom of the depths”, broadcast Saturday October 10 at 11:15 pm on Canal +
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