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 like loneliness, to recruit volunteers.

The film introduces us to Claudine, an elderly lady who shares her 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 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.

The full-length film (5‘18”) was launched in cinemas and on social media, on Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’s saint day (name of the association) in English and French versions.

Our ambition was to spread the Society of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’s vision and raise the question about the place of technology at the expense of human contact in the fight against loneliness. To achieve this, we launched the campaign using Facebook. The film targeted four groups of people close to the issue: Catholics, communicators, technologists and volunteers for other charities. Each group was approached with a special post headline to attract their curiosity and encourage them to react. 

To emphasize this Facebook initiative, we also targeted famous influencers on Twitter, with personal messages inviting them to react and spread the word and their opinions within their communities. 

The film was also supported in PR by the cultural, tech and lifestyle press, to encourage conversation.

Launched in France first, the film quickly spread overseas, creating an impressive amount of positive feedbacks and more importantly sparkling an important debate on loneliness and how technology affects our lives.

The debate quickly took over on social media, press, blogs, radio, newspapers and TV (BFMTV, RMC Découverte, KTO TV, France Ouest, Marie France, Konbini, La Vie, Maddyness, RCF, La Croix, etc.).

Thanks to one single film, we managed to bring back on the table a topic nobody really wanted to talk about : the film was broadcast in the University of Political Science of Paris and several French TV channels are already planning to air the film in its full version (5’18”).