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Feature story

Mingling with the stars: Ariane 5 and Arianespace at the Sundance Film Festival

March 6, 2009

Ariane 5 and Arianespace had supporting roles at this year’s U.S. Sundance Film Festival – the annual gathering in Park City, Utah that is recognized as the world’s premier showcase for independent films.

For the 2009 event, Ariane 5 and Chairman & CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall were written into the script of the documentary "Art & Copy" – which chronicles the exploits of such advertising industry legends as Hal Riney and Lee Clow.  The film used Ariane 5 to reinforce the theme that advertising and publicity campaigns can give flight to new ideas and trends in our culture.

This 88-minute film outlined the genesis of now-famous advertising such as Nike's "Just Do it" campaign and Apple's "1984" commercial for the 1984 U.S. Super Bowl football championship game.  The efforts that brought ideas of these visionary ad-men and women into reality was paralleled with the intense work involved in an Ariane 5 mission.

Members of the "Art & Copy" film crew chronicled Arianespace’s Ariane 5 mission with Skynet 5C & Turksat 3A in June 2008, following the campaign’s preparations, the heavy-lift vehicle’s rollout to the ELA-3 launch zone, and its successful liftoff for the dual-payload deployment.

As part of the production, Arianespace’s Le Gall was interviewed for insights on the inner workings of the telecommunications industry – discussing how advertising revenue helps support the acquisition, launch and operation of commercial relay satellites.

Just as the Ariane 5 mission with Skynet 5C & Turksat 3A was a success, "Art & Copy" scored well at the Sundance Film Festival.  It was picked up for world distribution by Arthouse Films, and Robert Redford expressed great enthusiasm for the documentary at its Sundance debut – one of the few screenings this  legendary actor/director attended during the festival that he helped create in the 1980s.