Synopsis
They come from Germany, France and Italy. They travel dozens of kilometres every night. Have the wolves crossed Belgium’s borders? Is Belgium ready? What would you do if you saw a wolf? Canis Lupus Belgicus is a radio investigation into the tracks of the wolf in Wallonia.
A word from Tënk
"To see a wolf is to catch a glimpse of the Holy Grail", says a witness in Canis Lupus Belgicus.
To mark the return of this mythical animal to Wallonia's forests, documentary filmmakers Guillaume Abgrall and Irvic d'Olivier set out into the field to investigate, obliquely, the reactions it provokes in the communities concerned.
We soon realize that this investigation is more of a pretext for taking an interest in human beings (and the curious relationship they have with their imagination) than in the animal in question. "Ever since we were children, the wolf has been the stuff of tales", says another witness…
Basically, what Canis Lupus Belgicus tells us is how the most ordinary fear can be an opportunity for humans to form a community and strengthen the bonds that unite them. And this applies whether the object of that fear is legitimate… or not.
All in all, the poor wolf - an animal which, although carnivorous, is not very dangerous - finds himself playing a secondary role in the documentary devoted to him! All it really does is act as a canvas for the fears and fantasies that humans are capable of projecting onto everything around them.
Louis-Olivier Desmarais
Sound designer, composer and musician
