Greenpeace
TotalPollution
TotalPollution unmasks how fossil fuel giants like TotalEnergies sponsor major sporting events to greenwash their dirty business.
All the while continuing to add to the climate crisis - and urges audiences to stand against the exploitation of sports and the ecological harm caused by corporate interests and advocate for a sustainable, livable future for all.
Directors & writers
Jorik Dozy & Sil van der Woerd
Producer
Alea Rahim
VFX Supervisor
Tim Smit
Credits
Production Company
Studio Birthplace
Film Directors / Writers / Editors
Jorik Dozy & Sil van der Woerd
Producer
Alea Rahim
Executive Producer
Sean Lin
Executive Producer
Adam Booth, Park Village
CG Director / Producer
/ Lead Liquid Simulation Artist
TimSmiT
CG Supervisor / Shading & Lighting Artist
/ Compositor
Matthijs Joor
Additional Sims by Nervous FX
Luka Zabret
Blaz Miklavic
Camera Tracking
Elephant Gate
VO Talent (ENG)
Seán Burke
VO Talent (FRA)
Guillaume Meurice
Recording Studio (UK)
Sound Studio - Grand Central Sound Studios
VO Sound Engineer
Miles Henry
French Voice Over Director
Stéphane Ridard
Recording Studio (FRA)
Benzēne in Paris, France
VO Sound Engineer
Pauline Facon
Sound Designer
Joe Wills
Color Grade
Alex Gregory, No. 8 London
Greenpeace Team
Marta Alemany
Hélène Bourges
Cécile Caillez
Camille Collin
Delphine De La Encina
Sarah Fayolle
Myrtille Gibaud
Lisa Goeldner
Clara Gonzales
Julian Gretsch
Priska Haidant
Russell Harvey
Edina Ifticène
Amy Jacobsen
Guillaumine Lickel
Elsa Palito
Magali Rubino
Eleonore Thelot
Jasmine Watkiss
GREENPEACE 2023
Close Modal
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Impact
3.8m
Views Across Platforms
154
International Media Features
12k
Petition Signatures
6x
Countries National News
Sportswashing
TotalPollution sheds light on the pressing issue of the fossil fuel industry sponsoring major sporting events to greenwash their image - also known as sportswashing.
Through associating themselves with these popular sports they pull the focus away from the undeniable major ecological harm they cause on communities and ecosystems worldwide.
3 hours 37 minutes. That’s how long it takes the global fossil fuel industry to fill a huge rugby stadium the size of the Stade de France with oil. That’s almost seven stadiums every single day. The extraction & usage of this oil is destroying a livable future, and the film aims to wake up audiences to the scale of our consumption.
"There is an urgent need for accountability and transformation within the fossil fuel industry to avoid the worst effects of climate breakdown - sponsoring major sporting events to greenwash their dirty business has to be stopped. In this film, we wanted to make visible the tremendous scale of our global crude oil production, and expose the extreme rate at which we are continuing to fuel our climate crisis. Together, let us stand against the exploitation of sports for corporate interests and advocate for a sustainable, livable future for all."
Directors Jorik Dozy & Sil van der Woerd
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The Campaign
The release of TotalPollution faced a rocky start. Days before the launch the press embargo was broken and the film was leaked. A day before the launch the Rugby World Cup threatened Greenpeace with legal action if it were to release the video. On launch day TotalEnergies issued an official statement to the press, further greenwashing its image.
Not deterred by the threats, we pushed forwards with the campaign and the story received wide press coverage and was talked about on National news all around the world. Eventually the Rugby World Cup dropped their case after much backlash.
Insta Filters
To amplify the release of the film, we developed an Instagram AR filter. The filter invites users to unmask the truth behind the colorfulTotalEnergies logo.
Users can scan the logo in the real world, upon which the filter replaces it with an animated, oil-leaking TotalPollution logo. The filter was developed in collaboration with Superposition and TimSmiT.
Sign The Petition
People everywhere are rising up in resistance against the fossil fuel industry. The industry is built on colonialism and injustice. From systemic pollution and environmental damage to displacement of communities, murder, fraud, misleading greenwashing marketing campaigns and now the global energy crisis.
LET'S END FOSSIL FUEL CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND THE CLIMATE.
Production
The CG of TotalPollution was produced under the expert guidance of VFX supervisor Tim Smit. The production commenced early May and took 3 months to complete. A faithful replica of Stade de France was created, where, just like in the film, the first game of the Rugby World Cup will be played between France and New Zealand on September 8th, 2023. The stadium was then populated with a crowd of 80,000 mannequins and 2 rugby teams.
The biggest challenge were the massive oil simulations that had to dynamically interact with the crowds and players. Some of the simulations contained North of 1.5 billion voxels (3D pixels), which required lots of computing power and patience. Through very precise planning and digital storyboarding the team was able to complete these massive simulations within the deadline and with a very minimal crew.
