Title	B.E.N (BIONICALLY ENGINEERED NURSING)
Brand	SOCIÉTÉ SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
Product/Service	SOCIÉTÉ SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
Category	A03. Casting
Entrant	LA PAC Paris, FRANCE
Idea Creation	CLM BBDO Boulogne-Billancourt, FRANCE
Production	LA PAC Paris, FRANCE

Name	Company	Position
David Wilson	La Pac	Director
Emma Skowronek	Avalanches Studios	Casting Director
Sophie Bernard	Freelance	Casting Director

Brief Explanation

While some countries are introducing the first companion robots to assist lonely people, the Society of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul raises the question of technology’s legitimacy in a fundamentally human issue such as loneliness. The film introduces us to Claudine, an elderly lady who shares her daily life with B.E.N., a companion robot. At first we’re surprised to see how easily B.E.N. carries out his tasks. Claudine must certainly feel less alone since she acquired the robot. But B.E.N.’s imprecise, mechanical behaviour gradually betrays his social limits. The surprising complicity we thought we saw gives way to the absurdity of this man-machine relationship, leaving the spectator pondering the legitimacy of technology in the fight against social isolation. The film ends with the following message: Today, companion robots are being introduced to assist lonely people. At the Society of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, we think that only human beings can help in fighting loneliness. We recruit volunteers.

Claudine : we wanted to tell the story of a casual person, socially speaking, to whom the audience could refer to. We were looking for a woman in her early 70s, able-bodied, not frail, in good shape and from an upper-middle class background. Not poor nor rich, not too old nor too young, not miserable, just alone. Thus said, casting an elderly woman seemed obvious for us regarding loneliness main targets; also, it might help the viewer feel empathetic. The idea of a famous actress was quickly set aside although Charlotte Rampling or Jane Birkin were possible options. We didn’t want to be diverted from the emotion and the idea. Ben : It was the robot technique that influenced our casting choice. The actor had to handle the body movement, accept the height and weight of the suit and the restraints of the mould. We picked a dancer.