This year, to accommodate challenges presented by COVID-19, the fund offered two new grants to support online promotion of French digital experiences in the USA.
As society pivots toward the digital in the wake of restrictions imposed by COVID-19, creative experience studios are rethinking their online promotion and distribution strategy tactics. In this context, the French Immersion program, presented by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States, the CNC, the Institut Français, Unifrance and the FACE Foundation, has reconfigured its grant program to support 15 artists and creators in two categories: production of promotional videos, and promotion of an immersive experience on social media or content platforms.
The partners are pleased to note the success of this initiative, with nearly 45 applications received.
The five recipients of the $2,000 grants for the production of promotional videos to be broadcasted on social networks and content platforms are:
- BattleScar (Atlas V)
- HanaHana (Fabbula)
- MOA (My Own Assistant) (Red Corner)
- OZ Experience (BackLight Studio)
- Call me Calamity (Tamanoir) (photo)
The 10 recipients of the $1,000 grants to promote an immersive experience on social media or on content platforms are:
- Accused#2: Walter Sisulu (La Générale de Production)
- Bioluminescence, First Contact (IKO)
- The Scream VR (Cinétévé Expérience)
- The Cliffs of V. - Chapter 1 (Gengiskhan Production)
- The Passengers (Les Produits Frais)
- Madrid Noir (Atlas V)
- I Will Sleep When I'm Dead (Aurore Wils)
- Kairos (Small Creative)
- The Jellyfish (Fabbula)
- Seven Grams (Lucid Realities)
About French Immersion
Created in 2018 by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States, in partnership with the FACE Foundation, the CNC, the Institut Français and UniFrance, French Immersion is a program that aims to promote French immersive experiences in the United States. It provides support to works selected in major American festivals. The partners have also launched "FR//XR", a study on the distribution and financing of XR works conducted by Kaleidoscope and to be published at the end of 2020.
About the partners of the program
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States promotes the best of French arts, literature, cinema, digital innovation, language, and higher education across the US. Based in New York City, Washington D.C., and eight other cities across the country, the Cultural Services brings artists, authors, intellectuals, and innovators to cities nationwide. It also builds partnerships between French and American artists, institutions, and universities on both sides of the Atlantic.
