(From Oregon to Vancouver, via Seattle and the Columbia River) This is one of the most spectacular and wildest marine landscapes of the United States: the shores of Oregon, a coastline battered by the winds and waves of the Pacific. A maritime landscape to take your breath away, where Nature can express itself in total freedom. From the estuary of the Columbia River to the islands off Seattle, from the long beaches of the Pacific to the tiny creeks and inlets on the Canadian border, “North West” sets out to encounter the most marine landscapes and characters of North America. Aboard a helicopter, the crew films the journey from the south to the north of the coasts of the United States from the sky. Along the way, the crew touches down to meet people: a beachcomber in Oregon, a boat builder near Seattle, a wild salmon fisherman on the Olympic Peninsular, a lighthouse keeper in British Columbia…
(From Maine to New York via Cape Cod, Nantucket and Long Island) From the Canadian border to Manhattan, from the creeks and harbours of Maine to Boston by way of Cap Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, the northeast coast of the United States offers landscapes that take your breath away. An extremely varied coastline, moving abruptly from totally urban to totally natural, sometimes with no transition. Including a few havens with evocative names: Nantucket, the Hamptons, and Coney Island. Aboard a helicopter the film crew records the coastline from the coasts of Maine to Central Park and Manhattan in New York City. Along the way, the crew stops off at houses threatened by erosion, in Nantucket and calls in on the Bush family home in Maine and those belonging to the celebrities of movies, politics and industry in the Hamptons on Long Island. Interesting encounters punctuate this panoramic journey, rich with landscapes familiar to lovers of cinema.
(From Louisiana to Florida: from New Orleans to Key West) From the swampy expanses of Louisiana to the near-tropical island of the Keys archipelago right at the tip of Florida, this is a long crossing at the very south of the United States from a unique viewpoint. Nearly 3,000 kilometers along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic with stopovers in mythical locations in American life: New Orleans for its musicians, Daytona for its motor racing circuit, Cape Canaveral for its rocket launches and Miami for its internationally famous beaches. Aboard a helicopter, the crew films the journey from the sky, landing just long enough to meet people: a pilot in the Keys archipelago, an airboat constructor in the Bayous, a mechanical sports fan in Dayton, etc., etc. More than a journey, this is an aerial road movie with multiple shots and reverse shots, whose “heroes” are the landscapes of the deep American South.
(An aerial road movie along the coasts of California from north to south) From San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge to the select hills of Hollywood in Los Angeles, from the sequoia forests in the far north of the most populated state in the USA to the desert vastness near San Diego on the Mexican border, the Californian coasts of the Pacific unroll over nearly 1,200 miles of breath-taking landscapes. Without doubt one of the most highly prized coastlines in the world. A fabulous stretch of coast. Aboard a helicopter, the film crew records the journey from the north to the south of California from the sky, setting down from time to time to meet people along the way: a seaplane pilot in San Francisco, a “newscopter” pilot in Los Angeles, an SUV fan on the long dunes of Pismo Beach, a surfer living in one of the many “gated communities” that string along the coast to the south of Los Angeles.
