"We could laugh about it if the situation was not so rious," Avia tweeted on Thursday
Other politicians and celebrities in France have promoted the film, criticising the government for its
health policies during the pandemie
Hold Up was launched in August through crowdfunding campaign on lute, iming to raise over
25 ccoo for the production
The project was finalised in November and brought together sceptics and theorists to attack the
measures taken by Prance in response to the coronavirus health crisis.
The nearly three-hour documentary was directed by former journalist Pierre Barntrian, and
produced by Christophe Const, who has described COVID-19 as "no worse than another seasonal
30 ilu".
Film gives the floor to 'usual suspects of conspiracy
Hold Up also features testimonies from well-known personalities and former government
ministers, including former Health Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, who has since distanced
himself from the project.
"I have not seen this film and if there is the slightest conspiracy. I want to say as clearly as possible
35 that I disassociate myself from it," Douste-Blary said on Twitter
"The health crisis we are going through is serious enough not to add confusion to the painful
moments we are going through."
The co-founder of the Ulule funding site has also said the film was has been pulled
advertising on the platform.
O "The initial pitch was mainly positioned on the mode 'other voices are possible", and the point
became politicised as the project progressed," said Alexandre Boucherot in a statement.
or any
"Very quickly, we realised that it went beyond the supposed initial framework and became a banner
of conspiracy theories very far from what we defend on Ulule."
Ulule says that the entire commission received from Hold Up will be donated to an association for
5 the "defence of information".
Hold Up has been removed by other video-sharing platforms, such as Vimeo and Dailymotion,
while links to the film have also since been blocked on Facebook
A full version of the documentary that remains online has been watched more than 150,000 times,
while a trailer for Hold Up also remains visible on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
"The documentary gives the floor to the usual suspects of conspiracy," said Tristan Mendès France,
associate lecturer at the University of Paris.
"The success of this conspiracy film can also be explained by the fact that it is particularly well.
polished."