MAURITIUS

Mauritius underwater wildlife is for sure one of the most beautiful of the Indian Ocean. An extraordinary marine richness to which are added many wrecks.
The strong presence of soft corals welcomes abundant aquatic life, the beauty of the lights creates a unique dramatic ambiance and atmosphere around the wrecks.

"MAURITIUS" is the first part of the triptych of subaquatic poems "Blue Paradises Season 2"

  • Olivier Bourgeois
    Director
    BLUE PARADISES, FRENCH POLYNESIA, THE RED SEA, GALAPAGOS, HERE TO STAY, THE OATH OF CYRIAC, MAURITIUS, ANDAMAN SEA, THE BAHAMAS
  • Olivier Bourgeois
    Writer
    BLUE PARADISES, FRENCH POLYNESIA, THE RED SEA, GALAPAGOS, HERE TO STAY, THE OATH OF CYRIAC, MAURITIUS, ANDAMAN SEA, THE BAHAMAS
  • Franck Meyer
    Writer
    BLUE PARADISES, FRENCH POLYNESIA, THE RED SEA, GALAPAGOS, BLUE PARADISES, MAURITIUS, ANDAMAN SEA, THE BAHAMAS
  • Olivier Bourgeois
    Producer
    BLUE PARADISES, FRENCH POLYNESIA, THE RED SEA, GALAPAGOS, HERE TO STAY, THE OATH OF CYRIAC, MAURITIUS, ANDAMAN SEA, THE BAHAMAS
  • Franck Meyer
    Producer
    BLUE PARADISES, FRENCH POLYNESIA, THE RED SEA, GALAPAGOS, THE OATH OF CYRIAC , MAURITIUS, ANDAMAN SEA, THE BAHAMAS
  • Franck Meyer
    Editor
    BLUE PARADISES, FRENCH POLYNESIA, THE RED SEA, GALAPAGOS, THE OATH OF CYRIAC , BLUE PARADISES, MAURITIUS, ANDAMAN SEA, THE BAHAMAS
  • FLY&DIVE
    Production Company
    BLUE PARADISES, FRENCH POLYNESIA, THE RED SEA, GALAPAGOS, BLUE PARADISES
  • Franck Meyer
    Digital Grading
    BLUE PARADISES, THE OATH OF CYRIAC, FRENCH POLYNESIA, THE RED SEA, GALAPAGOS, BLUE PARADISES, MAURITIUS, ANDAMAN SEA, THE BAHAMAS
  • Caleb Etheridge
    Composer
    MAURITIUS, THE BAHAMAS
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Music Video, Short, Web / New Media
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 27 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 15, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Andorra
  • Country of Filming:
    Mauritius
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Olivier Bourgeois

Olivier started his career as a commercial TV producer for major companies. In 2004 his passion for culture and the environment led him to produce, direct and write the first opus of the documentary trilogy "HERITAGE". The feature documentary "HERE TO STAY" (Original title « Nous Resterons sur Terre ») which takes an uncompromising look at the state of the Earth, was co-produced with the French film studio GAUMONT FILM COMPANY. Starring Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Mikhail Gorbachev and Wangari Maathai, environmentalist James Lovelock and Philosopher Edgar Morin, the film has been released in 25 countries with support from UNESCO and UNEP. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1149600/

In 2015, Olivier has created and developed an audio-visual archive bringing together an unprecedented number of testimonies from archaeologists, museum curators and guards who have contributed significantly to the protection and rescue of Syrian Heritage since the start of the armed conflict in 2011. During his many stays in Syria, he wrote, directed and produced the second film of the "HERITAGE" trilogy. Based on the unbelievable true story of ordinary people saving the antique collections of the Aleppo Museum during the war, the multi-award-winning docu-drama "THE OATH OF CYRIAC" was completed in September 2021.
https://theoathofcyriac.com/

Since 2017, Olivier has devoted a large part of his time and energy to raising awareness among the general public about the protection of the oceans through the underwater poetic series “BLUE PARADISES” whose first season ended in August 2021. Continued to the numerous awards received by the first season, the BLUE PARADISES adventure has been renewed for a second season of 3 episodes. This second season was completed in December 2023.

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Director Statement

Between the time I write these lines and the time you read them, the planet's oceans and seas will likely have broken new records for temperature rise, giving rise to more and more concerns about the future of several underwater species and coral reefs already in very poor condition. The years follow one another and are similar; after a record November, the year "2023" will be the hottest “in history.”
Faced with an inevitable failure of the rationale to make people understand the urgency of the situation and the rapid degradation of the oceans, I wanted to privilege the path of the sensitive through the mini-series "BLUE PARADISES."

But the question arises: does poetry still have a place in our world?
We are immersed in a din of information that no longer makes sense; the time of poetry is fundamentally opposed to this. In a world where we want to explain everything and rationalize everything, poetry, like the oceans, has an element of mystery.
In an era based on speed, poetry can seem futile, slow, or even useless, yet it has never been more necessary. Poetry puts us back in contact with what is most sensitive in existence, to reach what is most true, to give us another representation of the world, also to say what we feel, sometimes without knowing it and remains one of the best ways to raise awareness of the beauty and fragility of the oceans. In this sense, the 3 episodes of season 2 of BLUE PARADISES are both mirrors of joy and sadness.

Utopian you might say? Jean Cocteau wrote: “It is not a question of understanding, it is a question of believing.”, so I believe in it. I believe in it because you, the festivals worldwide, and the spectators of these same festivals supported, encouraged, and sometimes rewarded the first season of "BLUE PARADISES". Above all, you gave us the energy to continue. Due to a lack of resources, the second season's production was spread over 2 calendar years, but here it is there, in your hands and before your eyes.