French Immersion
New Media
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By French Culture Team
French Immersion is a program initiated by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and developed to support emerging and innovative French creators.
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy and FACE Foundation, in partnership with UniFrance, the Institut Français, the CNC, launched this program in 2018 to support producers and creators of VR projects and immersive experiences including 360 videos, augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR or XR), video games, location-based VR projects and art projects involving new technologies.
French Immersion brings French creators or producers to the United States on the occasion of a screening or presentation of their work during a significant festival or program identified by the Cultural Services team.
Creators or producers whose works are programmed as part of a festival in the United States will benefit one grant of $1,500 or $2,500 for 2 people.
French immersion supports immersive experiences made with digital and interactive tools:
- Virtual Reality (VR)
- Augmented Reality (AR)
- Mixed Reality (MR)
- Immersive art projects involving new technologies
GRANTS:
To be eligible for a financial assistance, your project must be a French project selected by a US festival. The program does not support learning expeditions nor PR events.
Grant details :
The grant is paid before the event. Face Foundation will send to the producers and creators an online agreement.
- Max. $1,500 / travel / person
- Max. 2 trips / project for each selection.
- Max. grants or flight tickets on a year for one production company: 4 selections.
- Max. grants or flight tickets on a year for one project: 2 selections.
SELECTED PROJECTS :
2023
- Games for Change (July 14-21)
“Fight Back VR” – Written and directed by Céline Tricart. Produced by Marie Blondiaux and Céline Tricart. A co-production between Red Corner, Lucid Dreams Productions, and France Télévisions.
- Tribeca (June 7-18)
“Monstrorama” – VR Experience – Directed by Clément Deneux. Produced by Atlas V.
“Fortune” – Directed by Claire Meinhard and Nicolas Bourniquel. Produced by Atlas V and ARTE France.
“In Search of Time” – AI short film – Directed by Pierre Zandrowicz and Matt Tierney. Produced by Atlas V and Pressman Film.
“Colored” – AR experience – Directed by Pierre-Alain Giraud and Stéphane Foenkinos. Written by Tania de Montaigne. A co-production between Pierre-Alain Giraud and Emanuela Righi (Novaya – France); Patrick Huang (Flash Forward Entertainment – Taiwan); and Centre Pompidou – France.
“The Birth – Chapter 1” – VR experience – Written and directed by Poulomi Basu and CJ Clarke. Produced by CJ Clarke (JAPC), Katayoun Dibamehr and Avi Amar (Floréal), Amy Seidenwurm (Meta VR for Good), and Jeanne Marchalot (France Télévisions, Francetv Storylab).
- SXSW 2023 (March 10-19)
“Jailbirds” – Written by Thomas Villepoux and directed by Thomas Villepoux. A co-production between Be Revolution Pictures and Digital Rise.
“JFK Memento” – Written by Chloé Rochereuil. Produced by Targo.
“Behind the Dish” – VR Experience – Written by Chloé Rochereuil. Produced by Targo.
“Spring Odyssey” – Directed by Elise Mornin. Produced by Lucid Realities.
- FilmGate Interactive Festival Edition 2 (December 2 – 5)
Mandala Digital Rise
2022
- Sundance 2022 (January 20-30, 2022)
They dream in my bones Faye Formisano
Seven grams Karim Ben Khelifa
- SXSW 2022 (March 11-20)
On the morning you awake Atlas V
Goliath playing with reality Floreal
- Tribeca 2022 (June 8-19)
Kubo walks the city Innerspaces
Missing pictures Episode 3 Atlas V
- Game for Change (June 13-14)
Goliath playing with reality Floreal
- FilmGate Interactive Festival (Nov 28 Dec-5)
What’s left of reality? Astrea (Atlas V)
Dark Euphoria Panel
Spring Odyssey Lucid Realities
Contact: Camille Jeanjean (camille.jeanjean@villa-albertine.org)
In partnership with
UniFrance
Founded in 1949 and strengthened thanks to its merger with TV France International in 2021, UniFrance is the organisation responsible for promoting French cinema and TV content worldwide.
Located in Paris, UniFrance employs around 50 staff members, as well as representatives based in the U.S., in China, and soon in Japan. The organisation currently brings together more than 1,000 French cinema and TV content professionals (producers, filmmaking talents, agents, sales companies, etc.) working together to promote French films and TV programmes among foreign audiences, industry executives and media.
Institut français
The Institut français is responsible for France’s international cultural program. Supervised by both the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and by the Ministry of Culture, it promotes French culture abroad through cultural exchange initiatives. Operating in a space where the arts, intellectual exchange, cultural and social innovation, and linguistic partnerships interact and intersect, it is also responsible for promoting the French language and the sharing of works, artists, and ideas all over the world. The Institut français is one of Villa Albertine’s main French partners.
Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC)
Created in 1946, the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC) is a public administrative organization, set up as a separate and financially independent entity which comes under the authority of the French ministry of culture and communication. Its principal missions are : support for the film, broadcast, video, video games, immersive productions and technical industries; promotion of film and television for distribution to all audiences and preservation and development of the film heritage.
FACE Foundation
FACE Foundation is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting French-American relations through innovative cultural and educational projects. In partnership with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States, FACE Foundation promotes artistic, literary, and educational exchange and collaboration between creative professionals from both countries. With additional corporate, foundation, and individual support, FACE Foundation administers grant programs in the performing and visual arts, cinema, translation, and secondary and higher education, while providing financial sponsorship to French-American festivals and other cultural initiatives. FACE Foundation focuses on new and recent work of living artists and the promotion of bilingualism and the French language.
