ENGLISH VERSION 🇬🇧
Discovering a World
Scattered across Europe are thousands of remote cabins that are unlocked and open to everyone. No reservations, no check-in, just a door, a wood-burning stove, and the understanding that whoever leaves will leave enough firewood for the next person.
A Series, Four Seasons
For a year, I will live by the rhythm of these cabins. Twelve 26-minute episodes with English subtitled fully immersed in this world, to tell the story of a parallel universe. From Scandinavian hytters to shepherds’ huts in the Pyrenees, from Scottish bothies to some of Italy’s most spectacular shelters. Wood, stone or corrugated metal; mountain ridges, coastlines, forests or cliff faces: Europe’s cabins reveal an extraordinary diversity, and a rich heritage that has yet to be truly documented.
The series follows the cycle of the seasons: the harshness of winter, the renewal of spring, the energy of summer, and the melancholy of autumn. Each season brings its own landscapes, encounters, and light.
The People Behind The Cabins
Gimme Shelters sets out to meet the people who bring these places to life: shepherds, mountaineers, skiers, and nature lovers. Each episode gives a central place to characters whose stories are deeply connected to this world, most of them already identified before the journey begins. But the filming deliberately leaves plenty of room for the unexpected and for spontaneous encounters, because they are at the very heart of the cabin spirit.
The Journey
I’ve been carrying this project with me for the past four years, having already visited more than 350 cabins and spent nearly a full year living up there. On January 1, 2027, I set off for real: a full year on the road, with my dog Elvis by my side, my guitar, and a travelling guestbook that will make its way from cabin to cabin, filled in by the people I meet along the way.
Passing on an Ethic to Preserve This Heritage
Because we cannot talk about cabins without thinking about their future, the series will also explore the question of how they can be preserved.
This is not about creating a tourist guide or sharing the locations of remote cabins on social media. The aim is to inspire, to highlight the fragility of this shared heritage, and to learn together how to take care of it, drawing in particular on the culture of sharing and the right of access to nature (Allemannsretten) found in other parts of Europe.
“A free cabin is not a place to be consumed, but an open door to the wild. And the best way to keep that door open is to learn, together, how to take care of it.”
A Travelling Guestbook
But the adventure won’t stop at the screen.
Alongside the series, a book will take shape throughout the journey. I’ll set off with a travelling guestbook, carrying it from cabin to cabin, where everyone I meet will be invited to leave their mark: a few words, a story, a drawing, a thought, a memory…
Over time, this book will become a collective record of the adventure. It will take the story beyond the 12 episodes, preserving voices and stories that may never find their way into the series, while creating an object that will belong, in some small way, to everyone who took part.
What will the funding be used for ?
The good news is that, when it comes to filming equipment, I have already invested in everything I need myself. I currently have a Sony FX30 camera, a DJI Mini 3 Pro drone, a DJI RS4 Mini gimbal, lenses, and lightweight audio equipment. Everything has been carefully chosen to keep the setup as mobile as possible while still delivering a cinematic quality to the project.
The Ulule funding will therefore be used specifically to cover the logistics of filming and travelling:
🚙 Transport (35%): fuel, ferries, tolls, vehicle maintenance...
🏨 Field production logistics (25%): occasional technical accommodation (required at least every 10 days to transfer and back up footage), power and energy needs...
🎞️ Footage management and backup (13%): storing, backing up, and securing several hundred hours of footage throughout a year of filming.
🎒 Production and equipment (10%): consumables, minor repairs, accessories, and replacements in case of damage.
🧭 Unexpected costs and travel contingencies (10%): for all the surprises and adventures the road has in store for us!
🛡️ Insurance and safety (7%): vehicle, filming equipment, liability insurance, safety.
This campaign will not cover the full cost of the adventure. I will personally cover a significant part of the travel expenses, including continuing to invest my own income into the project throughout the year (approximately €12,000 over 12 months).
Your support will help make possible something that would be difficult to finance on my own...
Who is behind the project?
My name is Arnaud, I’m 35 years old. I founded the association Les Films Refuges to bring this documentary series to life and, hopefully, to develop other audiovisual projects around the same themes in the future.
I’m a guitar teacher and music school director. I studied audiovisual production and hold a Master’s degree in Composition for Film and Visual Media. I’ve built my life around music, so needless to say, it will play an essential role in the series.
Five years ago, I pushed open the door of a free cabin for the very first time. It was the beginning of a passion that has never left me. After spending hundreds of nights in these places, I’ve decided to dedicate the coming year to bringing this project, which means so much to me, to life.
I truly believe that the values and the spirit these cabins embody deserve to be celebrated and given the recognition they deserve.