Colored - Noire - Villa Albertine

“Noire” is an immersive experience based on a biographical essay by Tania de Montaigne, which premiered at the Centre Pompidou on April 2023, and won the award for Best Immersive Experience at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024.

The experience is designed for groups of ten participants. Visitors are equipped with Hololens 2 devices, and a bone conduction headset. They enter a 200-square-meter set that soon becomes haunted by the ghosts of 1950s Alabama.

In Montgomery, Alabama, on a 2:30 p.m. bus on March 2, 1955, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. Despite threats, she remained seated. After being jailed, she decided to sue the city and plead not guilty. No one had ever dared to do that before. And yet, her name would be forgotten.

Director

Tania de Montaigne (writer)

Tania de Montaigne, a versatile writer, playwright, and journalist, earned acclaim for her novels and essays, notably “Noire, la vie méconnue de Claudette Colvin,” winning the Simone Veil Prize in 2015. Her essay “L’Assignation, les Noirs n’existent pas” received the Botul Prize and the Prix de laïcité. Her new novel “Sensibilités” released in october 2023.  Debuting with “Le Plus Beau Jour” at the Avignon Festival in 2013, she continued her theatrical success with a second play in 2017. In 2019, her play “Noire,” adapted from her novel, graced the Théâtre du Rond-Point under Stéphane Foenkinos’s direction. 

Stéphane Foenkinos (co-director)

Since 1997, Stéphane Foenkinos has thrived as a casting director in over 60 films, collaborating with  esteemed directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Terrence Malick, and Woody Allen. He then directed 3 feature films with his brother, writer David Foenkinos, starting with an acclaimed adaptation of his book: “Delicacy” (2011), starring Audrey Tautou and earning several César nominations. Fervent advocate of diversity and equality, he is committed to sharing his expertise and engages in educational talks in schools, universities, and prisons.  Alongside Tania de Montaigne, he extends these discussions through compelling shows, documentaries  emphasizing the art of storytelling and meaningful dialogue. 

Pierre-Alain Giraud (co-director)

Pierre-Alain Giraud is a French producer and director (London Film School), creating immersive experiences, documentaries, fictions and animation films, collaborating with artists like Björk (co-director of Victimhood music video with Gabríela Friðriksdóttir) or Sigur Rós. Also engineer, he co-founded Novaya, company creating immersive experiences along with the technologies supporting them. His work was selected in the Sundance Film Festival (Solastalgia, 2020), Tribeca Festival (Colored, Pompidou Center 2023), and other international film festivals (BFI London, Cannes XR, CPH:DOX, etc.). He holds both a master in engineering (ENSAM) and filmmaking (London Film School) and was granted in 2021 the CNC author journey’s grant.

General Informations

Director : Tania de Montaigne, Stéphane Foenkinos, Pierre-Alain Giraud

Production Company : Novaya (France)

Coproduction Company : Flash Forward Entertainment (Taïwan)

Awards : Cannes Film Festival Best Immersive Experience 2024 – Luxembourg Film Fest Best XR Experience – Thea Awards oustanding immersive experience, SIMA jury prize, 3XR Must Awards

Year of creation : 2023

Minimum Age : 12

English Dubbing

Technical Informations

Format : Immersive installation

Duration : 32min

Number of participants per session : 5 to 12

Equipment required : Drapes todemarcate the experience area / Vestibule space/lockers for visitors’ personal belongings / 10 speakers type 5XT L acoustics with amplifier + 2 subwoofers / 1 Gobo projector (pour Gobo Rosco)

Minimum space : 200 to 400m2