To mark the presentation of Colored: The Unknown Life of Claudette Colvin at the PHI Centre, the author behind the work, Tania De Montaigne, is in conversation with Will Prosper, documentary filmmaker.
Together, they discuss the protagonist’s forgotten story, presented through augmented reality, after being recounted in the form of a biographical essay, adapted as a graphic novel and then as a play. The two artists discuss the choice of the medium to convey certain emotions and bring pieces of history back to life.
The adaptation of the work Colored: The Unknown Life of Claudette Colvin into augmented reality is the result of a unique encounter, or rather an unlikely chemistry, between its three creators: Tania de Montaigne, Stéphane Foenkinos and Pierre-Alain Giraud. PHI spoke with the latter two during their visit to Montréal for the opening of the experience, at the PHI Centre.
Stéphane Foenkinos defines himself as a theatre director, but above all as a lover of the transmission of knowledge. Pierre-Alain Giraud is a director and producer. The two artists say that their work together on this project began, first and foremost, with Tania de Montaigne's text, which they describe as incredible.
"Everything comes from her, she is our inspiration, our muse,"
says Stéphane. He adds that the spark behind this project came from the discovery of a woman, Claudette Colvin, with whom they were not familiar.
Before the creation of this augmented reality work, Tania de Montaigne, who had never been on stage before, and Stéphane Foenkinos, who had never before directed a play, decided to experiment together and bring the author's text to the theatre. It is here that Pierre-Alain Giraud, in turn, makes his entry, in order to create projections on stage during the play: “It was already a bit like a theatrical documentary. [Pierre-Alain] had already created an augmented reality system unlike anything else in the world, because it was truly groundbreaking. And it was while we were working together [on the staging of the play] that he said 'this story is worth attempting in augmented reality'."
Augmented reality was thus an obvious choice. Pierre-Alain Giraud explains that he had never used virtual reality but had always been attracted to augmented reality: this medium allows you to stay connected to others without ever having to go through the experience alone. "You're still very much in reality, with people around you, and you're having an experience alongside others. That's what was important to us, too. That's what attracted Tania and Stéphane to embark on this experience, because it's a story about how we construct society, and to tell that story, we needed a medium that would allow us to always have others in sight."
The three artists sought to create a collective experience, which questions our relationship to history, but also our relationship to others. In augmented reality, movement in space, which allows us to discover the work from different angles and points of view, requires us to pay attention to the people who are living the experience with us.
And that's exactly what they intend to do for the audience. At the end of the creative process, the two directors had the chance to talk to Claudette Colvin, who is now 84 years old and lives in Texas. They asked her what message she would like to convey to the public. Claudette Colvin replied, quite simply, that she wanted people to leave the experience having learned her story, saying that we must fight for the rights of all people, at all times. It's a universal message that Claudette delivers: human rights concern us all, without discrimination; it is necessary to fight for everyone, whatever injustice we may witness.
"Heroism undoubtedly lies in the actions of people we hardly ever speak about. It's the ordinary heroes that appeal to me and inspire me,"
says Stéphane. The artists involved in this work hope that everyone will walk away from the experience with the conviction that action is essential and worth a thousand words, but also that it is possible for each and every one of us to be courageous in the same way as Claudette Colvin.
For Pierre-Alain Giraud and Stéphane Foenkinos, this augmented reality work, presented at the PHI Centre from February 7 to April 28, 2024, is a tribute to Claudette Colvin, but also to Tania de Montaigne: "Behind her work as a novelist and author, she is a tireless defender of equal opportunities and equal rights. And she takes this text, this story, to schools, prisons and social centres. She contributes her time and energy, and that's an integral part of who she is.”
They see the documentary format as a way of making a contribution to the issues facing society, by highlighting the stories of real people, ordinary heroes and heroines. In this sense, they see new technology as a real goldmine for documentary and non-fiction works.
Limited Places
Centre
An immersive experience that traces the story of Claudette Colvin and her fight for civil rights in 1950s Alabama
Limited Places
Centre
An immersive experience that traces the story of Claudette Colvin and her fight for civil rights in 1950s Alabama
Pierre-Alain Giraud is a director of immersive works, documentaries, short fiction and animated films. A graduate of the Arts et Métiers engineering school and the London Film School, he is the 2021 winner of the CNC's "parcours d'auteur", with Yolande Zauberman as his mentor. Co-founder of Novaya, a company that invents new immersive narrative forms and develops associated technologies, he co-directed and co-produced Solastalgia, an immersive experience selected at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020. He has also collaborated with numerous musicians, including Sigur Rós, Valgeir Sigurðsson, Nico Muhly and Anna Thorvalsdottir.
Pierre-Alain co-wrote a stage adaptation of La dame aux Camélias with Arthur Nauzyciel and Valérie Mréjen, and directed the films projected on stage during the show. He continued their collaboration with a stage adaptation of the novel L'Empire des lumières, from which he also made a short film that was selected at several international festivals. He has co-directed three animated films with Gabríela Friðriksdóttir, presented at the Biennale d'art contemporain de Lyon (2013) and Venice (2015).
From 2012 to 2016, Pierre-Alain directed a documentary and several music videos for composer Valgeir Sigurdsson (former producer of Björk, among others). With Anne Brochet, he co-directed and co-produced the feature-length fiction film Rêve de mouette.
Formerly an English teacher, a meeting with Jacques Doillon turned Stéphane Foenkinos into a casting director—a profession he pursued for over 20 years on more than 80 films (working with Godard, Valérie Lemercier, François Ozon, Woody Allen, Terrence Malick, and on the James Bond and Harry Potter franchises).
Stéphane Foenkinos is a fan of duos. He forms one with his brother on the big screen, writer David Foenkinos, with whom he has co-directed three feature films: La Délicatesse with Audrey Tautou and François Damiens, nominated for a César for Best First Film and released in 30 countries; Jalouse with Karin Viard, nominated for a César for Best Actress; and Les Fantasmes. In theatre, he’s worked as a duo with Tania de Montaigne, with whom he has been adapting and directing since 2019: Noire, L'Assignation and Switch. Together, they also created the documentary Sale Race for France Télévision.
With his heart set on passing on knowledge, he is a regular contributor to associations, schools, universities and prisons. He co-directs the trailers for the Série Mania festival, and has portrayed 55 female writers and politicians for an exhibition series. Stéphane has also worked regularly as a director and artistic director on numerous events for Hermès since 2013. After exploring animation, writing and directing, Noire, an immersive exhibition, is his first foray into the world of augmented reality.
Tania de Montaigne is the author of novels and essays, including Noire, la vie méconnue de Claudette Colvin (Grasset) prix Simone Veil 2015 and L'Assignation, les Noirs n'existent pas (Grasset) Prix de laïcité 2018. Since 2019, Tania de Montaigne has been performing on stage under the direction of Stéphane Foenkinos, who adapted and directed "Noire" (premiered at the Théâtre du Rond-Point inParis, in June 2019) and "L'Assignation" (premiered at the Théâtre National de Bretagne in Rennes, in September 2021). Tania de Montaigne is an associate artist at the TNB. Alongside her writing, Tania de Montaigne composes and sings. She is also one of the 10 founding members of the Collège Citoyen de France, and regularly gives talks in academic, social and prison workshops. Tania de Montaigne writes a monthly column for the newspaper Libération, alternating with three other writers.
Will Prosper, a visionary documentary filmmaker and graduate of the École de cinéma et de télévision du Québec, is renowned for his moving exploration of under-represented communities and Afro-descendant cultures in Québec. Among his notable works, The Lost Tapes of hip-hop in Quebec (2008) tells the fascinating story of Québec's rap pioneers, while Les derniers pèlerins (2011) explores the religious Haitian diaspora in Québec. His award-winning film Kenbe la - Jusqu'à la victoire (2019) highlights his narrative talent.
Currently, Prosper is working on Fredy, a poignant story of a tragedy involving the Montréal police, as well as Dreams Without Ceiling, an intimate portrait of painter Manuel Mathieu. His film Northern Beats was recently selected for TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2023, exploring Canada's thriving hip-hop scene with its rich heritage of struggle and success.
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