Stories about the future are often dominated by collapse and bad news. With The Flares, we wanted to ask a different question: what if one of the great undertakings of the century were to reduce avoidable suffering, among humans as among other animals?
- ⏱ Under 10 minutes
- 🎬 The Flares × APALA
- 🎶 Transitions Sonores 2026
- 💬 An invitation to debate
Why this video?
Imagining the future is not a luxury. The futures we deem possible shape the choices we make today: if we see only catastrophe, we risk giving up on taking action. Conversely, naive optimism makes us forget the very real risks.
The Flares, a collective of independent video makers who explore what the future might be, shares with APALA this fine line: taking dangers seriously without giving in to fatalism. This video also extends one of our values, recognising the worth of all beings capable of suffering and of experiencing pleasure.
What the video proposes, and what it does not
It proposes
- To link subjects rarely brought together: health, medicine, plant-based diets, life sciences, and the condition of animals, including wild ones.
- To look, over the long term, at forms of suffering that are today considered unavoidable.
- To open an informed debate, on the basis of available knowledge.
It does not propose
- An immediate plan of action.
- To present scenarios as certainties: several avenues belong to foresight and call for research, caution and debate.
Questions to ask ourselves together
These questions have no simple answer. They deserve to be discussed calmly, on the basis of available knowledge, rather than dismissed out of hand because they challenge our habits.
The voices behind the project
Gaëtan SelleDirector of the video, co-founder of The Flares, an association that explores the future through science fiction and documentary
Thomas LepeltierHistorian and philosopher of science, director of APALA’s think tank
Jonathan GuéguenFounder and Managing Director of APALAConclusion: a horizon to be discussed
We are sharing this video as an invitation to think, not as a certainty. If it makes you question, excites you or leaves you sceptical, then it has fulfilled its purpose: opening up the discussion.
Organise a screening and debate?
We present the video and lead the discussion with your teams, your students or your residents.
References
The Flares and APALA (2026). Une biosphère sans souffrance : est-ce possible ? [video]. YouTube. youtube.com/watch?v=_b9ihxStRyE
Bruers, S., Davis, A. J., Hojjat, S., Koskensilta, A., Lepeltier, T. and Pearce, D. (2024). ‘Nature without Suffering: Herbivorisation of Predator Species for the Compassionate Stewardship of Earth’s Ecosystems’. Journal of Applied Animal Ethics Research, 6, 175–204. doi.org/10.1163/25889567-bja10051
The Flares (n.d.). The Flares [YouTube channel]. youtube.com/@the-flares
0 comments