They are fresh, free and diverse. French digital creations are making their mark on the internet, where they're gaining a wider audience and greater renown every day. Their success is down to their boldness, inventiveness and willingness to break the rules and reinvent the genre. There’s something to suit all tastes and ages, from documentary and fictional web series to virtual reality, tactile graphic novels, and storytelling, play-based and educational apps. By leveraging the practices of the digital age and tapping into the essence of the web and social media, digital creations are diversifying, finding new ways of communicating with and looking at the world.

These unique works encourage you to look at the world differently.

On the internet, you’re just a click away from anyone and anything. You have the ability to go virtually wherever you want; to travel through space and time. Using a language of their own, digital creations expand our perception of other people and places by showing us far-flung destinations, bygone eras and forgotten characters.
Let’s head to South Africa to discover an unsung hero in the struggle against apartheid, to Panama to meet a boxing genius who didn’t care for his sport, or to Guatamala to hear what the future holds for a reformed gang member. Let's travel to the United States, Iran and elsewhere overseas, where surprising encounters and heartfelt tales await.
These testimonies from around the world make other cultures, stories and geographies accessible to us. They stimulate our imaginations by taking us somewhere less well known, or even unknown.
He's a forgotten legend from Panama—a sportsman who cared nothing for his sport. Come and find out why it's said that boxing is a jealous woman.
It’s the story of an amazing boxer—a world featherweight champion—who hated his sport and was the talk of Paris in the 1930s. Directed by Camille Duvelleroy and based on an original screenplay by Jacques Goldstein, this interactive comic book tells the incredible story of Alfonso Teofilo Brown as he makes his way from the Colon docks in Panama to the bars of Harlem and the clubs of Pigalle. A sportsman who preferred champagne and opium to punch bags, he was also a talented musician who became Jean Cocteau’s protégé. His ring was the dance floor, which you discover through the musical ambience of the period.
Format: interactive comic book
Directed by: Camille Duvelleroy
Written by: Jacques Goldstein, Alex W. Inker and Camille Duvelleroy
Produced by: Bachibouzouk and Arte France
Languages: French and English

Another boxing match awaits you, this time in a courtroom. It's the apartheid trial of an extraordinary man in South Africa, and it's as if you were there...
The name of Nelson Mandala is engraved in the history books, but this virtual reality experience honours another hero in the fight against apartheid: Walter Sisulu. Using recovered sound archives from the Rivonia trial held in the middle of the 1960s, Nicolas Champeaux and Gilles Porte have created an animated 360° documentary with spacialised sound that brings to life the epic confrontation between Mandela's mentor and a formidable racist and zealous prosecutor. It's a tense stand-off, during which the protagonists trade blow for blow. No images of this extraordinary testimony existed previously.
Format: virtual reality animated documentary
Written and directed by: Nicolas Champeaux and Gilles Porte
Produced by: La Générale de Production
Languages: French and English

Do you know what a bottle in the sea of Web 2.0 looks like? Young people from the West Indies and Polynesia confide their dreams and hopes for the(ir) future world. There's a message to be had!
Format: documentary web series
Directed by: Irvin Anneix
Produced by: Narrative
Languages: French

Accessing the work
Free, independent, carefree and lighthearted: Iranian young people are seen on social media “without a filter” through cliché-free photography.
Web series, documentary
Drawing on the creativity of social media to make a documentary web series was the challenge taken up by Valérie Urréa and Nathalie Masduraud. The two French directors trawled Instagram to find young photographers in Iran. Kiana, Negar, Ako and Nafise are all under 30. They live with an eye firmly focused on their goal and show us the desires and disenchantment of young people in search of their identify and freedom. Ten different outlooks that paint a passionate and kaleidoscopic portrait of contemporary Iran.
Format: documentary web series
Written and directed by: Nathalie Masduraud and Valérie Urréa
Produced by: Darjeeling
Languages: Persian with French, English, Spanish and Polish subtitles
Accessing the work
He has set himself an unlikely challenge: to find two global music stars and convince them to get back on stage. And the man trying to blend into American rap culture is French! Quite a long shot...
Format: documentary web series
Written and directed by: Mathieu Rochet
Produced by: Resistance Films
Languages: French and English

Accessing the work

If our planet’s history were to be summarised in a thousand-page book, humans would only take up a few lines at the end. Before us, one giant animal was replaced by another and landscapes were transformed. But finally we took over, for better or for worse.
There is no longer any doubt that our activities are having an impact on climate change. Of course there are sceptics, but this environmental emergency is now everyone’s concern, shared here through the medium of digital creation.
Just looking at the beauty of the world around us is enough to convince us of the urgent need to preserve it. It’s time to think up and create other possibilities for our environment, both on our own doorstep and on the other side of the world, Maybe Earth is less an inheritance from our parents and more a loan to our children?
Virtual reality allows us to reconstruct things that have disappeared; for example, the world before humankind. So, if you've never met a baluchitherium or a megalodon before, now’s your chance!
The world of giants did not disappear with the dinosaurs. For 60 million years, some extraordinary animals inhabited the Earth. Although we are familiar with whales and elephants, we know a lot less about baluchiteriums and megalodons, which are now extinct. But virtual reality changes all that! Eric Ellena, Luc Reder and Arnaud Poujol immerse us in a bygone space and time to show us what life was like and why these amazing creatures disappeared. The device also allows you to walk in the shoes of a palaeontologist and explore the mysteries of the past.
Format: virtual reality experience
Directed by: Luc Reder
Produced by: French Connection and Chuck Production
Languages: French

To agree on the need to save the environment, we have to agree on the current state of play. “There are no seasons any more!” True or false? Answer in data visualisation form.
Format: documentary web series
Directed by: Pascal Goblot
Produced by: Escalenta
Languages: French and English

Accessing the work
“Human activities are in no way responsible for climate change.” Fake news is here to stay. So, how about a YouTuber shining the light of truth on the environment?
Format: documentary web series
Directed by: Léo Grasset and Simon Dronet
Produced by: Goldenia Studios
Languages: French

Accessing the work
The revolution has begun. Another world (of wine) is possible—one without pesticides. By the way, did you know that a bottle of wine can be translated into music notes?
Format: documentary web series
Directed by: Yoann Le Gruiec
Written by: Tina Meyer
Produced by: IKO
Languages: German and French

Accessing the work
Music where you least expect it—in the Far North. Virtually alone on the ice, a musician seeks inspiration and captures the beauty of the world before it melts before our eyes.
It has been said that music warms your body and soul, and this maxim has been put to the test in the furthest reaches of Greenland. The electronic music producer Molécule set out to capture the sounds and vibrations of the Arctic to compose his latest work. Inspired by this adventure, the virtual reality experience designed with Jan Kounen and Amaury La Burthe gives us a fascinating insight into the sources of musical creation and the fragile beauty of the world. This transmedia project also includes a documentary and a 360° interactive live session designed for domes and planetariums.
Format: virtual reality experience
Directed by: Jan Kounen, Molécule and Amaurie La Burthe
Produced by: Zorba
Languages: French and English

This slightly warmer and more poetic version of the Rhine reveals some incredibly beautiful natural phenomena. Take a breath. And put on your mask!
Diving into unknown ecosystems to highlight their beauty and fragility is the mission of biologist Serge Dumont and Benoît Lichté in this 360° film. The two directors lead us through the phreatic waters of the Rhine basin. Fresh, crystal clear and under threat, they’re home to some incredible ecological nests. As surprising as the sand that bubbles up with the water pressure, this fascinating world is shown to us through the medium of an immersive documentary, encouraging us to protect its exceptional fauna and flora.
Format: virtual reality experience
Directed by: Serge Dumont and Benoît Lichté
Produced by: Seppia Interactive
Languages: French

Come on, let's enjoy some fresh air and fun traversing the tarmac on two wheels. Not only is cycling enjoyable and eco-friendly, it’s also a philosophy and a way of life!
Web serie, documentary
Bicycles are taking over the streets, and it’s not just in Copenhagen that city dwellers have fallen in love with them. It's a massive phenomenon—a global passion for pedalling—captured in this documentary web series directed by Marc-Aurèle Vecchione. Racer, BMX, trials, fixed gear, mountain bike... each type has its own history, fans and practices. Here, some of the most iconic players in the cycling renaissance share their passion, which is also a philosophy and sometimes an art.
Format: documentary web series
Written and directed by: Marc-Aurèle Vecchione
Produced by: Temps Noir and Résistance Films
Languages: English and French
Accessing the work
Before you act, take the time to reflect and ask yourself what a desirable environment would look like. “Draw me the world after.” You have 133 pencil strokes. Go?
“Let's draw the future together!” This programme’s objective was achieved in stages. First, an interactive questionnaire with 133 questions, to understand how we see the world now and in the future. The answers were then analysed by a group of sociologists and several documentary films were made. The challenge was to design—and build—a desirable environment that addresses our greatest concerns. Filmmakers and activists also share how they would like to bring about change to collectively design the world after.
Format: documentary web series
Written and directed by: Margaux Missika, Alexandre Brachet, Christophe Nick and Chris Schepard
Produced by: Upian, Yami2, Arte France and NHK/NHK World
Languages: French, English, German and Japanese

Accessing the work
The “world after” could easily have been written on an Earth without humanity. The planet has become inhabitable and our descendants are living in other galaxies. Science fiction? Decide for yourself.
In the distant future, Earth is uninhabitable. Humans have left to colonise other solar systems. Access is now strictly controlled. In this virtual reality film created by Benjamin Nuel, the viewer becomes Jean Jones—a mercenary financed by a scientist and a cult priestess—who arrives illegally on Earth to explore a mysterious archaeological excavation site. The object of their quest is the burial site of Luke, the prophet of the main interstellar religion. A little science fiction can be useful when it comes to imagining what (after) tomorrow might be like if nothing changes.
Format: virtual reality experience
Written and directed by: Benjamin Nuel
Produced by: Honkytonk Films and Les Produits Frais
Languages: French

If you were asked what it means to be human, what would you say? If you were asked to sum up people in one word, which word would you choose? Exterminators?
Insignificant. That’s how people rate on planetary scale. From infinitely large to infinitely small, this animated web series places people in a universe they’ve never been the centre of. With a powerful aesthetic and precise narrative, it describes humankind as quite an ordinary species. Of course we did invent morality, science, art and politics, but what sets us apart is our ability to irreversibly destroy our environment. This breathtaking spectacle of a programme was designed by Franck Courchamp, a researcher at the CNRS, and Clément Morin, a director specialising in motion design.
Format: documentary web series
Directed by: Clément Morin and Franck Courchamp
Written by: Franck Courchamp
Produced by: Lumento, Duck Factory
Languages: French, English and German

Accessing the work

When you’re young, you feel like the world belongs to you. The possibilities seem endless, but you have to make choices and decisions that will shape your future. Many of the people depicted in the digital works you're about to see are at a crossroads in their lives. Which path should they take? Follow them to find out.
Youth also comes with commitments. Commitments to friends, lovers, passions and convictions. Thanks to the internet, today's voices can be broadcast around the world at loudspeaker volume. The new generation makes its civic, political, environmental and social concerns very clear. These big societal issues are a worry, and they’re watching us.
Let’s listen to their viewpoints: they have their feet firmly in the present and their heads turned resolutely towards the future. They are shaping their tomorrow's world before our very eyes.
It’s the story of a little line that comes alive when you touch it; a simple pencil stroke that any child could draw anywhere in the world. It's a red thread that has a lot to say and is waiting patiently for you…
This app is a tactile story of life symbolised by a red thread that unravels, becomes taut, lengthens and unwinds constantly to the end. From childhood to old age, life is laid out in a series of expectations—big and small—that punctuate its journey. Adapted from the graphic novel by Serge Bloch and Davide Cali, this tactile storytelling experience alternates between animated sequences and interactive options that keep the story alive. It's an ode to poetry and life, directed by Claire Sichez and based on an interactive screenplay by Camille Duvelleroy.
Format: app and animated film
Directed by: Claire Sichez
Adapted from the novel by: Serge Bloch and Davide Cali
Produced by: Bachibouzouk
Languages: English and French
Whether or not you like “summer series”, this one will surprise you. It’s a love story about young people (which is already pretty good), but the surprise twist is that it's a palindromic comic book disseminated via social media. Want to share?
Abel and Olivia are a seemingly happy couple who decide to separate one summer to cross things off their bucket list. Their adventures are the subject of Instagram's very first comic book soap opera, developed by Camille Duvelleroy, co-written by Thomas Cadène and Joseph Safieddine and illustrated by Erwann Surcouf. Published at a rate of one episode per day for two months (for the first season), the experience has a surprise in store. Like its title, it is built around palindromes. In other words, it can be read in both directions with, of course, different meanings to be inferred.
Format: Comic book soap opera on Instagram
Written and directed by: Thomas Cadène, Joseph Saffiedine, Erwann Surcouf and Camille Duvelleroy
Produced by: Bigger than Fiction and Arte
Languages: French

There's something different about Audrey: she suffers from hallucinations and can hold her breath for long periods. You might be wondering what the connection is? You’ll have to read this amazing “scrolling” comic book to find out! Ready to take the plunge?
Audrey regularly encounters huge sperm whales in her daily life. To cure her hallucinations, this young translator must undergo a series of examinations that take her far beyond her expectations—on a journey to the limits of cognitive science and mythology that viewers can follow by scrolling through the images in this black and white graphic novel. Marietta Ren’s first “scrolling” comic book is available for tablets and smartphones. Reading time: approx. 90 minutes. It has also been turned into an imposing 130-metre-long physical installation with interactive sound. A comic book without precedent you can enjoy in bite-size cinematic pieces.
Format: digital graphic novel
Written and directed by: Marietta Ren
Produced by: Small Bang and France TV
Languages: French

Elliot has reached a crossroads in his life. On the right is an extraordinary adventure. On the left is a safer, more comfortable path. “Don’t give up your dreams on a rainy night,” we read…
Elliot has an appointment with Emma. Emma C-847 to be precise, the closest habitable planet to our solar system. But Elliot has doubts. Should he fulfil his childhood dream by climbing into the waiting space shuttle? He finally makes his decision in a bus shelter after a conversation with a stranger. This animated graphic novel—part science fiction, part personal account—was devised by Frédéric Jamain and Nicolas Pelloille and co-written with Benjamin Charbit. It was inspired by the visual novel, an (interactive) genre somewhere between a book and a video game that’s making waves in Japan.
Format: animated graphic novel
Directed by: Frédéric Jamain and Nicolas Pelloille
Produced by: Cinétévé Expérience and Hiver Prod
Languages: French and English

Sometimes when we grow up, we leave our dreams by the side of the road. Raphaël always thought he would be a professional dancer and now he's a film director. Here, both his passions come together as one. Let's dance!
From improvised hip-hop battles to on-stage groups, Raphaël Stora has one obsession: to film, archive and document the journey of a generation of street dancers who leave an imprint of their unique style behind them. Looking back at his teenage years, he offers us both an insight into a thriving counter-culture and a sincere and sensitive autobiographical account. The 8 episodes that make up this documentary web series have been collated into a 44-minute film available on the internet.
Format: documentary web series
Directed by: Raphaël Stora
Produced by: Darjeeling and Arte France
Languages: French and English
Accessing the work
Les promesses n’engagent que ceux qui y croient, dit-on. Un célèbre YouTuber en panne d’inspiration entrevoit le bout du tunnel grâce à un algorithme secret qui lui garantit de retrouver le succès. Mais il est aussi très compromettant. Pouce en l’air ou pouce à terre ?...
Format: web series
Directed by: Emilien Paron
Written by: Emilien Parron, with the collaboration of Sarah Andrès
Produced by: Rose Mécanique and Camille Ghanassia
Languages: French

Accessing the work
No writer's block here when it comes to the news! Not satisfied with waiting to be noticed, young French-speakers are making themselves heard all over the world with their engaging reports. It's enough to cause quite a stir on your screen.
Format: web series
Directed by: Claire Leproust Maroko
Produced by: Fablabchannel
Languages: French

Accessing the work
Having met the Loud speakers, here are a couple of smooth talkers. They're small but made of sturdy stuff. And they're sharp. A girl and a boy who come to life on our screens to make us laugh—and think. They make fun of the world, and we’d like to hear more.
Once upon a time there were the Anooki: two animated characters straight from the imagination of designers Moetu Batlle and David Passegand. Their ice has melted and they've been propelled into a series of short videos, where they reflect on our world with delightful cheek. Anything goes, from arms trafficking and the Ebola virus to the French national assembly, Game of Thrones and Candy Crush. Although sometimes critical and caustic, these two partners in crime are still super cute. They also enjoy escaping from our screens to create mischievous video-mapping shows on iconic buildings.
Format: augmented reality films and installation
Directed by: Moetu Batlle and David Passegand
Produced by: Aglagla
Languages: French

Accessing the work

In a democracy, sovereign people theoretically have the ability to freely appoint their representatives. In practice, the process is not always transparent and sometimes anything goes in the pursuit of political ends.
From a web series that takes us to one of the most corrupt countries in the world to an investigation into the fierce struggle for influence between Kremlin trolls and citizen hackers and an interactive work of fiction about the French elections, these digital creations question our political systems and the role of the internet in our democracies.
While they sometimes offer a bitter indictment of our societies, they also question our history, forge links and strengthen our unity. They help us envisage other worlds, so we can see our own in a different light.
In 2012, almost half the world's population was called upon to renew its confidence in its leaders. Elections were held in France, the United States, India and... Papua New Guinea. Yes, people also vote in Papua New Guinea.
A campaign is about to begin in a remote province of Papua New Guinea. This web documentary by Igal Kohen plunges us into the electoral practices of one of the most corrupt countries in the world through a series of six portraits. In these six tragi-comic fables, each leader is seeking the shortest route to power using unusual methods and pockets filled with promises and gifts. The short films are linked together by mini video games in the form of interactive postcards.
591
Format: documentary web series
Directed by: Igal Kohen
Written by: Estelle Koenig, Nicolas Garnier and Igal Kohen
Produced by: IKO
Languages: French

Accessing the work
You are the spectator whispering into the hero’s ear. You are guiding the President of the Republic through the final negotiations for the Olympic Games. What sport!
In the hushed corridors of the hotel, talks are held, promises are made and secrets are speculated upon. The President of the French Republic is trying to win the hosting of the next Olympic Games. That’s two GDP points! And in this interactive work of fiction by Gilles Porte, you are the one guiding the head of state through the final negotiations and you are the one making the strategic decisions with him. You steer the story from your computer or smartphone based on what you hear in your left or right headphone. A closed-set film with 5 possible endings and 25 ways to get there.
664
Format: interactive film
Directed by: Gilles Porte
Produced by: La Générale de Production
Languages: French

Accessing the work
Does Russia owe winning the hosting of the Sotchi Olympics in 2014 to its troll factories? Let's find out! In any case, they're going for broke on the Moscow web and it's no joke.
Format: documentary web series
Directed by: Tania Rakhmanova
Produced by: Seppia
Languages: Russian and French

Accessing the work
Does the web benefit humanity or is it a tyrant? Does it make us happier or are we its slaves? And all these connected objects are so useful, aren’t they? Well, no.
Format: documentary web series
Written and directed by: Brett Gaylor
Produced by: Upian and Eyesteelfilm
Languages: French, English and German

Accessing the work
“What if we made peace?” “OK, but let's talk about it first.” What would two fighters from opposite sides actually say to each other? Can they get along? Will they understand each other? You decide...
You're in the middle of a battlefield, standing between two enemies who hate each other. They tell you about the cruelty of the war they're fighting and share their motivations, hopes and simple pleasures. Wearing your virtual reality headset, you move (physically) through three rooms and three scenarios. In each of them, two combatants are discussing a war—the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the civil war in El Salvador—from their opposing viewpoints. By giving a voice to perpetrators of violence, Karim Ben Khelifa's virtual “installation”—which can have up to 20 simultaneous users at any one time—explores the combatants’ points of view and your own. It's also available as a mobile app with an even more striking effect, as the enemies are projected on your surroundings in augmented reality.
Format: virtual reality and augmented reality experience
Directed by: Karim Ben Khelifa
Produced by: Lucid Realities
Languages: French and English

Fortunately, enemies come to the negotiating table to make peace. Yes, but... If the conditions for peace are deemed unfair by one of the parties, it can quickly become the quickest route to war.
They met in the Palace of Versailles in June 1918 to negotiate the treaty ending the First World War. Now, Luc Reder and Eric Ellena take us behind the scenes of this historic moment in this 360° immersive virtual reality film. Headset on, you're projected into the Hall of Mirrors to find out how the clauses and formalities imposed on the losing side sowed the seeds of the world war that followed some twenty years later.
Format: virtual reality experience
Written and directed by: Luc Reder and Eric Ellena
Produced by: Chuck Productions and French Connection Films
Languages: French

It's no longer a world war, but it still regularly encroaches on French soil. Paris has been the victim of a number of terrorist attacks. Fluctuat nec mergitur.
It’s an ordinary evening in Paris, until shots ring out in the corridors of the metro. The characters in this interactive work of fiction quickly realise they’re under attack. Both inside and out, panic ensues as you follow three stories with fluid borders. They follow the same night-time journey and their characters mesh; men and women whose paths cross, intertwine and influence one another. And you get to choose which thread you want to focus on, excluding the other two.
Format: interactive film
Directed by: Simon Bouisson
Produced by: Cinétévé Expérience, Resistance Films and France.tv
Languages: French

Another world is possible! A famous science fiction writer created it in his books and some of his visions and inventions came true. Let’s look beyond appearances...
In this video game interpretation of Philip K. Dick’s universe, you are Elvin Green and we are in Berkeley in 1967. Your writing career never took off, your publisher is furious, your wife and daughter have left you and your apartment is one big mess. In short, the picture that the player discovers at the start of this immersive adventure is disconcerting to say the least, but there's light at the end of the tunnel! In this first-person 3D video game adventure by Brice Roy, you enter alternative realities to the real world, closely resembling the work and the man that inspired them.
Format: video game
Directed by: Brice Roy
Produced by: Darjeeling and Nova
Languages: French, English and German

Accessing the work
Founded in 2015, PXN—Producteurs d’eXpériences Numériques—is an association of independent new media producers working to digitally transform France's cultural and creative industries. It brings together 70 producers who explore every genre of digital creation: fiction, creative documentaries, animation, magazines, live shows, video games, mobile apps, virtual reality and internet-enabled devices.
This article was written by Cédric Mal.