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.
Rubén Abruña (Germany)
Elena Pedrazzoli
Valentin Thurn (Germany)
Elena Pedrazzoli (Switzerland)
Thurn Film
Peacock Film AG
- 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.
- Lead a conversation shift in which people talk openly and publicly about human excreta with no shame or taboos.
- Urge decision-makers to commit to using human excreta as an alternative and sustainable fertiliser, paving the way for further positive policy actions.
- 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.
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)