The Present | Full Award-Winning Documentary

Time passes for all of us. When we become aware of the passing of time, we realize how precious life is. And in general, when something traumatic happens, we realize how suddenly life can change. And I think we shouldn't wait for something to happen to live fully. When I chose to live an adventure life, I wanted to develop this feeling of living several lives in one. For me, that's it. The very essence of travel. This little boy is me, little Dimitri. I was about three years old. Three decades have passed since then. Today, I am 34 years old. My name is Dimitri Poffet. I grew up in the north of France. Five years ago, I did a genetic test and I learned that I was positive for Huntington's disease, a rare and incurable neurodegenerative disease. Studies show that I should develop the first symptoms between 35 and 40 years old. When I learned to be a geneticist, I sold all the material things I had. I left my job in the bank in Paris. I left my apartment and my country to realize my dream. Travel around the world. And it's this rich experience that made me realize what I wanted in my life. Live my passions. Not only for me, but also to help people in need. So, two years ago, I bought a bike and I started a solo trip from Mexico to Patagonia. A trip of 18,000 kilometers. And I called this project Explore for Huntington. The idea is to raise awareness and raise funds for the disease, but also to meet the entire network of Huntington's disease in Latin America in order to connect them all together. This way, I contribute to create something sacred. Hope. My motto is the following. The disease has no borders and we must all collaborate. Huntington is a neurodegenerative, genetic and hereditary disease. My father died of this disease 20 years ago and he is the one who transmitted the defective gene to my sister and me. When a parent is carrying the defective gene, the probability of transmitting it to his children is 50%. Common symptoms include concentration difficulties, memory problems, involuntary movements, People with the disease usually develop symptoms between 35 and 50 years old. But there are also cases of juvenile Huntington's disease. My sister started to develop symptoms when she was 13 years old. Today, she is 42 years old and her symptoms are getting worse. She has lost her autonomy in everyday life and she suffers from major psychiatric disorders. She has locked herself in her room since the beginning of the disease and she doesn't want to see anyone, not even a doctor. The disease can even make her aggressive. To this day, there is no curative treatment. And I hope that the more people will talk about it, the more research will advance. And the more it advances, the more hope there will be for a treatment. The disease remains little known. And it is true that the prevalence is relatively low, with about 5 cases per 100,000 individuals in Europe. In Chile, a country of 19.5 million inhabitants, there are officially 380 patients. But these are only official figures, and there may be many more. In most countries, the disease is still unknown and it is very difficult to identify all the patients. In Latin America, few people have access to genetic tests. As a result, few people can take precautions to avoid spreading this gene. It is one of the most affected regions in the world by the Huntington's disease. And that's why I chose to start my journey here. Good afternoon, Christian. How are you? Fine, and you? Fine, thank you. How are you? Fine. Welcome to my house. Thank you very much, it's a pleasure. Let me introduce you to Maricel, my wife. She has Huntington's disease. Good afternoon, Maricel. How are you? Fine. I am Dimitri. I am French. And I am here to meet you. We have to move forward and try to deliver the best quality of life possible. It has been hard, but we have been able to move forward and overcome everything with love, affection, affection. Do you want to go to Patagonia? All together? With the family? Yes? As it is a rare disease, with her husband, her children, we tend to feel alone and isolated. I visit people affected by the disease to share their hope. Sometimes, I see in them a part of my future. Symptoms that I might have too. But I focus on the beauty of these encounters, on the unity of the families. I want to show through this project that no one is alone and that there is an international community. How do you say a hug in French? Un câlin! We are all under the spell of time. We have managed to control a lot of things throughout history, but not time. Controlling time? It's just a fantasy. But deep down, we all need adventure. Not to control the passing of time, but to change the perception of it. Life has become so comfortable that most people don't feel the need to leave their comfort zone. And yet, when you do, believe me, you really feel what it's like to be alive. And for me, that's what travel is. A wonderful way to feel alive. It connects you with the beauty of human relations. Dimitri, what was the most difficult part of the trip? I literally crossed the whole mountain range from the south of Colombia to here in Chile. It's a long climb. I did about 150,000 meters of unevenness. And with all the weight I have to carry on my bike, sometimes it's very difficult. I met so many incredible people during this adventure, I rarely felt alone. I crossed the borders and saw dozens of different cultures. And I saw that before belonging to a country or a culture, we are above all simple beings. Unlike a material good, we never detach ourselves from an experience. It is part of us forever. Crossing Latin America by bike has not always been easy, believe me. At times, I even wanted to give up. But I never gave up. And do you know why? Because in every difficult situation, I thought of all those affected by Huntington. And it was them who gave me the strength to move on. Thank you. God bless you. Thank you for coming. As I continued to pedal south, I saw a metamorphosis of nature. The more I moved towards the heart of Patagonia, the more the leaves took on their autumn hue. The forests went from green to orange and from orange to red. The end of my journey was approaching. And nature was becoming spectacular. Adventure is powerful because there is no certainty in it. It is a constant reflection on what life is. In adventure, you decide what your own limits are. Moving beyond your comfort zone is fascinating. Especially when you face nature. Why do we climb mountains? Why do we hike when it's cold or when it rains? I think that adventure is an innate engine that many have forgotten. Because everything has become so comfortable, so perfectly under control. But we need the uncertainty of adventure to understand who we really are. And when we live adventures in nature, we come back to the essentials of life. We then begin to value the simplest things. And the simple fact of having water, food or someone to laugh with, becomes a treasure. And that's how we understand the value of life and the value of the present. The idea is to get to the valley, get close to the glacier, put on the crampons, always with a step as safe as possible. It's like being there in the courtyard of the towers of the country. Traveling and living like this, I want the day when the disease is declared, I don't regret anything. Adventure becomes a way to feel fully alive. It becomes a way, even for a moment, to stop the tic-tac of the clock of life. Life is the most beautiful gift. And today, it's the present. Go