Impact Days Catalogue
By Rubén Abruña and Rubén Abruña

Holy Shit

Feeding the world and slowing the climate crisis – Holy Shit breaks the taboo of speaking about human excrement, and shows ways out of the dead end of flush and forget. Director-Narrator Rubén Abruña follows the poop trail in the Parisian sewers and in Chicago’s wastewater treatment plant. He discovers that in 2023 we’re still using a system from the 19th century! That moves him to search for modern regenerative solutions. In Uganda, Poo Pirates teaches villagers how to use low-cost dry toilets to make fertilizer and prevent epidemics. In Geneva, the most efficient building converts its excreta into fertilizer, while in Hamburg people heat their homes with their poop. In South Korea, folks buy bread with the faeces Standard Money, a currency based on the value of human excreta. In a playful style, Holy Shit depicts the narrator’s investigative journey, learning from people on how to deal with the challenges of food security, global warming, environmental protection, and safe sanitation.

Sections : Impact Days, Impact Days
Country : Spain, France, United States, Uganda, Kenya, Kenya, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Japan
Original language : English
Directors
Rubén Abruña
Rubén Abruña (Germany)
Producers
Valentin Thurn
Elena Pedrazzoli
Valentin Thurn (Germany)
Elena Pedrazzoli (Switzerland)
Thurn Film
Peacock Film AG
Completion
2023
Impact Statement
HOLY SHIT aims to change the global conversation on poo and pee: with HOLY SHIT we want to help people everywhere see their poo and pee as a resource, rather than a waste product. Our top-level goal is to kickstart a new societal and political approach to human excreta which brings it into the mainstream of circular economy policy commitments and actions, putting the topic of “sustainable circular sanitary concepts” on the agenda.

Our impact campaign addresses the strong cultural barriers against dealing with shit in a playful way. That’s why we created a book, a card game, and a song to address a younger audience to see our film Holy Shit.
Impact Goals
  1. Inform a generation about the climate solution that is our poo and pee, particularly Gen-Z, as they will inherit the consequences of inaction on this issue.
  2. Lead a conversation shift in which people talk openly and publicly about human excreta with no shame or taboos.
  3. Urge decision-makers to commit to using human excreta as an alternative and sustainable fertiliser, paving the way for further positive policy actions.
Impact Strategy
  • Engage and mobilise a coalition of academics, civil society organisations and businesses who already know and care about human excreta, using the film as a tool to empower and amplify their work.
  • Leverage high-visibility international days, including World Toilet Day (November 19th), World Soil Day (December 5th), World Water Day (March 22nd), and World Environment Day (June 5th), to amplify the film and spark new conversations on human excreta fertilisers through social media.
  • Screen the film at the European Parliament for policymakers in the framework of the EU's new Soil Monitoring Law to inspire policies and actions that unlock the potential of human waste for green policy objectives.
Contact
Primary contact
Valentin Thurn (Germany): valentin@thurnfilm.de
Participants present at the Impact Days
Rubén Abruña (Germany)
Valentin Thurn (Germany)
Elena Pedrazzoli (Switzerland)

WORLD SALES
Autlook

DISTRIBUTORS
Farbfilm Verleih
Filmdelights

BROADCASTERS
WDR/BR, SRF, SVT

FUNDING
– BKM – Beauftragte der Bundesregieirung für Kultur und Medien (GER)
– DFFF – Deutscher Filmförderfonds (GER)
– Filmstiftung NRW (GER)
– BAK – Bundesamt für Kultur (CH)

WORLD SALES
Autlook

DISTRIBUTORS
Farbfilm Verleih
Filmdelights

BROADCASTERS
WDR/BR, SRF, SVT

FUNDING
– BKM – Beauftragte der Bundesregieirung für Kultur und Medien (GER)
– DFFF – Deutscher Filmförderfonds (GER)
– Filmstiftung NRW (GER)
– BAK – Bundesamt für Kultur (CH)