Office for Science & Technology at the Embassy of France in the United States

Screening of the film "The Pursuit of Endurance" with producer Luc Hardy Published on Friday January 29, 2016 View online : https://www.france-science.org/Screening-of-the-film-The-Pursuit.html

- When: Monday, February 22, 201-, 5:00pm to 8:00pm - Where : Embassy of France in the United States (4101 Reservoir Road NW, 20007 Washington, DC) - Free registration The Embassy of France invites you to a screening of The Pursuit of Endurance, a film that documents a new polar expedition that follows in the footsteps of the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. The screening will be followed by a discussion of the movie with Luc Hardy, it will also be an occasion to explore the links that exist between Ocean and Climate Change.

Synopsis In the heart of the Antarctic, nine adventurers are about to live an extraordinary story. They come from very different backgrounds, but one thing brings them together – a passion for adventure and testing their limits. Their goal: to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest legends of the golden age of polar exploration: Ernest Shackleton. In 1914, after the sinking of his ship The Endurance, this hero saved his entire crew from a certain death. 100 years later our expedition sets out to explore the sub-Antarctic islands of Elephant, South Georgia and the South Sandwich by boat, ski and pulka. On board the Australis: an expedition leader, a veteran explorer, a former officer, a skipper, a polar guide, a scientist, two young soldiers and an athlete snowboarder. An expedition to remind us of the fragility of this highly endangered ecosystem, and to improve our understanding of these remote expanses. With them, you will relive the best but also the most challenging moments of this great adventure. The movie is based on an original idea by Luc Hardy, produced by Sagax Entertainment, co-produced by Puzzle Media.

Program: 4:30 pm Doors open 5:00 pm Welcome and screening

6:00 pm Q&A about the film and a discussion on Ocean and Climate Change with: - Luc Hardy, Entrepreneur, veteran adventurer, environmental advocate and author - Donald Boesh, Professor of marine science and president of the Center for Environmental Science at the University of Maryland, United States. - David Porter, atmospheric and oceanographic research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University 7:00 pm Wine & Cheese Reception 8:00 pm End of event This screening will be held at the Maison Française of the Embassy of France, 4101 Reservoir Road NW. Parking is not available. All guests must present a photo ID at the entrance.

Speaker Biographies Luc Hardy is an entrepreneur, veteran adventurer, environmental advocate, author, member of the Explorers Club of New York. He is the President of Sagax, a US-based investment and management advisory firm. Luc Hardy pursues a personal goal of traveling extensively across the globe, photographing and reporting from remote places in order to raise awareness for global causes. Luc is also Vice-President of Green Cross France & Territories, the environmental NGO founded by Mikhail Gorbachev. Over the years, Luc Hardy has led several expeditions in polar and glacier regions (Greenland, Himalayas, North Pole…). Donald F. Boesch is a Professor of Marine Science and President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and University System of Maryland’s Vice Chancellor for Environmental Sustainability. He earned his B.S. in biology at Tulane University and Ph.D. in oceanography at the College of William and Mary. Don has conducted research on coastal and continental shelf ecosystems along the Atlantic Coast, and in the Gulf of Mexico, eastern Australia, and the East China Sea. He serves as a member of the Maryland Governor’s Bay Cabinet and was appointed by President Obama to the Gulf Oil Spill Commission. In recent years, Don has been engaged in assessing the impacts of global climate change, co-authoring several reports for the state, federal government and National Academy of Sciences. David Porter originally started out studying the weather as a meteorologist, but his love of field work and his evolving interests led him to the study of ocean-atmosphere interactions for his PhD and then to his current research on ice-ocean interactions. David’s experience across different fields gives him an edge in combining observations, data, and mathematical system models together.