DUANJU  NEWS

In the ecosystem of the new "Duanju" format, certain trajectories are as important as the series themselves. Magali Semetys is one of those French actresses whose experience lends credibility to a script still under construction. Accustomed to the rhythms of television and the demands of cinema, she applies her expertise to a shorter, more direct, vertical narrative, where the performance must be immediately clear, and where every intention, every glance, every silence becomes a catalyst. Magali Semetys built her career in a style familiar to French audiences, with popular long-running series and regular television appearances, allowing her to firmly establish a character in viewers' daily lives. This experience becomes a particular asset when the narrative becomes more concise and everything has to unfold more quickly. Cinema, for its part, has taught her a different kind of depth: how to bring a role to life over the course of a film, with a different kind of precision, one that is specifically designed for the big screen. In 2024 and 2025, Magali Semetys attended the first two public screenings organized by the Studio Phocéen association in Paris, which presented this format for the first time in France, on November 23, 2024 , and June 14, 2025. Her presence at these two events contributed to raising the profile of a format that was still new to French audiences. Currently, Magali Semetys is involved in two series using the Duanju format. In Militiamen , she plays a police inspector tasked with interrogating the main characters: a tense and confrontational role designed to quickly bring contradictions to the surface, push the characters to reveal themselves, and drive the plot forward under pressure. Watch the series: Link In Amber , she plays the sister of a man haunted by the disappearance of the woman he loved. More ambiguous, more introspective, this character holds certain information about the disappearance and nurtures the idea of an incomplete truth. Watch the series: Link Two different styles, but the same narrative function: to be a turning point, the one that forces the protagonists to take a stand and propels the story forward. To learn more about Magali Semetys, listen to the podcast interview by Maëlle Billant, where she discusses her career.

France Télévisions is the main public broadcasting group in France. It operates several national channels and a free streaming platform, france.tv, which is primarily funded by public money. In addition, the group has a network dedicated to its overseas territories, called " La 1ère ," which produces and broadcasts local content in Africa, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific. The group is introducing two short, serialized series, specially designed to be broadcast directly on its platforms and social networks. The first is powered by Slash, a platform dedicated to 18-30 year olds. The videos are short, with a sequential narrative and regular releases. The series "P*tain de soirée" (Damn Party) is co-written and performed by Roman Doduik, in collaboration with editorial teams within France Télévisions. Distribution relies on Slash's social media accounts and those of the creator, with direct distribution on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. The second initiative is led by the Overseas Territories division of La 1ère. The series "L'île entre nous" (The Island Between Us) is produced in Guadeloupe and tells a romantic story between characters deeply rooted in the local community. Talents such as Axelle René and Gilles Saint-Louis are involved in its creation and production. The series is broadcast on Guadeloupe La 1ère's social media channels, with short episodes released sequentially, optimized for mobile viewing. During a presentation at the Media Club International on March 5, 2026, James Labbé, deputy director of content responsible for TV channels at the Overseas division of France Télévisions, explained that this project was initially launched independently before being fully integrated, due to its success. The content is accessible directly online, without going through linear broadcasting, with circulation ensured by platforms and social networks. Article written by Guillaume Sanjorge #GuillaumeSanjorge

In the south of France, in La Ciotat, the Eden Theatre , built in 1889, remains a unique place. Recognized as one of the birthplaces of cinema, it preserves the memory of the first moving images and the beginnings of audiovisual storytelling. It was here that the Lumière brothers, pioneers of cinema, filmed and screened, at the end of the 19th century, short sequences of a few dozen seconds that captured moments of everyday life. These films, intended to capture reality or to dramatize it, laid the foundations of a visual language and explored the possibilities of visual storytelling. At that time, cinema was, by its very nature, a short format. From the outset, filmmakers like Georges Méliès sought to go beyond mere filming by introducing visual effects, illusions, and transformed narratives, thus recomposing reality. This logic is extended today by digital technologies and artificial intelligence. More than a century later, a new short format has emerged internationally: the duanju, developed in China and often referred to as a "microdrama." However, this format cannot be reduced to a simple technical variation; its scope, economic models, and distribution methods define it according to its own logic, directly adapted to contemporary uses, particularly mobile viewing. The big screen structured its narratives. The telephone now constructs its own. It is within this dynamic context that the Eden Theatre, still active and in tune with the evolutions of the film world, recently hosted a talk by producer Guillaume Sanjorge. Having been involved in this format since 2023, he defended the idea of a new stage in the history of audiovisual storytelling, at the crossroads of uses and technologies. This reflection is part of a broader international dynamic, notably through the Global Traffic Conference 2026, organized in Shenzhen on April 23 and 24. The event brings together the main players in these emerging formats and demonstrates their rapid structuring on a global scale. Tickets for the Shenzhen event: https://baijing.cn/ui6v6

A screening of the series Roi Gandolfi  will take place on May 7, 2026, in Toulon, at the Médiathèque Chalucet. The event is part of the Club MEDSERIES, a program dedicated to contemporary serial storytelling, organized by Quattrocento in partnership with the City of Toulon. Hosted in a 120-seat auditorium, the screening offers an immersion into different narrative formats on the eve of the Cannes Film Festival. The session will begin at 4:00 PM with Roi Gandolfi , a medieval, humorous, and offbeat series. It follows a king confronted with a series of trials blending mystery, honor, and power, including a sacred medallion to protect, betrayals, and disappearances to solve. Each situation contributes to shaping his legend, despite a temperament that is completely unstable and poorly suited to his role. Shot in the south of France, the series unfolds across a range of natural locations, including the Roquefavour aqueduct in Ventabren, the Château de Tarascon, Daudet’s mill in Fontvieille, the calanques of Marseille, the Régusse mill, and the Saracen tower of Cournonterral. Created by Guillaume Sanjorge, the series features a wide cast including Jean-Pierre Castaldi, Marthe Villalonga, Laurent Artufel, Anthony Joubert, Michel La Rosa, Stéphane Martinet, Sébastien Bugeja, Cyril Etesse, François Viette, Rémi Barrero, Nicolas Tacussel, Roger Nicolas, Jordan Deluxe, Karine Lima, Claudia Notte, Alexandre Thibault, Aurèle Barbieri, Sami Bentayeb, Gérald Michiara, and Raphael Forte. The screening of Roi Gandolfi  is part of a broader program conceived as a journey through three styles and three formats. At 4:45 PM, the mini-series Buddy Bob , written and directed by Anne Loriot, offers a contemporary comedy centered on an unexpected encounter during a festival. At 5:10 PM, the program continues with Paoliwood , presented as part of a carte blanche by the Corsican SVOD platform ALLINDÌ, exploring a project that blends fiction and territorial identity. Altogether, the event offers more than two hours of screenings, alternating between humor, intimate storytelling, and works rooted in Mediterranean cultures. Practical information: Location: Médiathèque ChalucetAddress: 5 rue Chalucet, 83000 Toulon Date: May 7, 2026Time: 4:00 PM – approximately 6:30 PM Admission: Free (subject to availability) Format: screening and discovery of several series, including Roi Gandolfi  (12 episodes, 21 minutes)

Launched by Chinese producer Wenwen Han , Short Drama Alliance (SDA) is an international platform dedicated to professionals of duanju, these vertical mini-series designed for smartphones. The Short Drama Alliance's mission is to connect creators from around the world, foster international co-productions, and make China's thriving short drama ecosystem more accessible. The platform offers: a free discussion space for authors, producers, translators and distributors, monthly reports on Chinese market trends (DataEye), guides, webinars and strategic analyses to better understand this new narrative language, a premium membership program for organizations wishing to access targeted resources and collaboration opportunities. To join the platform: www.shortdramaalliance.com #WenwenHan

The market for film photography is projected to reach nearly $5 billion by 2025. The "Camp Snap" camera, screenless and inspired by film photography, has sold over a million units. Companies are anticipating this shift. A segment of young people is turning away from traditional smartphone uses, despite the increasing image quality. Generation Z (born between 2000 and 2010) is beginning to adopt screenless cameras and rediscover film, in the United States, Europe, and Asia. This movement is part of social media fatigue, the quest for authenticity and slow media, as well as a return to analog ( analog revival ). For the past twenty years, social media has transformed the image into a tool for self-promotion. Photography is no longer simply about capturing a moment, but about producing a version of oneself in comparison to others. This performative image must be seen, validated, and compared, with demands akin to those of audiovisual professionals. The ego is constantly engaged, and sharing loses its logic of lived experience. With screenless cameras and film photography, there is no instant control, no retouching, and no immediate publication. The image regains its uncertain, delayed, imperfect character, freed from this pressure, like the photo albums of yesteryear. This situation can also be extended to online video on social networks. The dominant formats (Reels, Shorts) focus heavily on the individual in a selfie talking, mixing self-exposure, influence and reaction, and perpetuate a logic of short, self-centered and above all repetitive content for more than 15 years now. Recent criticism and litigation in the United States targeting platforms like Meta, accused of spreading videos harmful to young people's mental health, highlight the limitations of this model. Several court decisions and ongoing legal proceedings support users. The success of analog formats in photography signals an expectation that could also translate into a growing separation between the object of capture (the camera) and the object of dissemination (the phone screen), a trajectory particularly favorable to fiction professionals. A vast opportunity is also opening up for professional fiction adapted to phone screens. Formats that reintroduce narrative will restore the image of social networks. The user once again becomes a spectator of a story, remotely and without needing to represent themselves. It's a way to escape a space where the ego is constantly engaged. Article written by Guillaume Sanjorge #GuillaumeSanjorge

Nippon TV is one of the major names in Japanese media, the country’s first commercial broadcaster from the 1950s onward, and it also operates Hulu in Japan. The group announced the launch of Viral Pocket, a structure dedicated to the Duanju market. Nippon TV does not present this initiative as an isolated experiment, but as a fully fledged business built around three functions : IP development, the production of projects designed for the vertical format, and marketing support driven by performance indicators. This positioning builds on results that are already in place. Nippon TV highlights the success of We are Coy Every Day , launched in March 2023, which the group says has generated more than 2.6 billion organic views. The company also points to Chokotto Paa-chii , whose episodes reportedly average more than one million views on TikTok. In other words, Viral Pocket is not being launched to test whether an audience exists. The division is there to turn existing know-how into a more structured production and commercialization pipeline. For several months, the sector has often been viewed through the lens of specialized apps, mobile-native studios, or players emerging from the creator economy. Nippon TV explicitly links this new division to its international growth ambitions, its content portfolio, and its strategy to connect with audiences that were built on social platforms. Sources : • Nippon TV  – February 17, 2026 • World Screen  – February 17, 2026 • C21Media  – February 17, 2026

The more widely a language is spoken, the larger its market for audiences and distribution in the audiovisual sector. Today, English is by far the dominant language with approximately 1.4 billion speakers. Mandarin follows with over 1.1 billion speakers, while Spanish boasts more than 560 million speakers. These languages shape the world's largest audiovisual markets. But the hierarchy is changing. French, long perceived as a cultural rather than a demographic language, is growing rapidly. It now has nearly 396 million speakers worldwide, compared to approximately 321 million in 2022, and is now the fourth most spoken language in the world (surpassing Arabic). This growth is based on a structural dynamic. French is now present on every continent. It is also the second most widely learned foreign language in the world, with tens of millions of learners. The shift is largely demographic. The majority of French speakers are now in Africa, where population growth and increased school enrollment directly fuel the expansion of the language. By 2050, nearly 85% of French speakers could be African, which profoundly redefines the market outlook. This logic is also found in the digital economy. French is one of the main languages of online content and is establishing itself as a language of communication, education, and cultural dissemination on an international scale. Digital and audiovisual uses are increasingly converging, particularly with streaming platforms and short-form content. In this context, language can become a strategic lever for investment. An audiovisual project is no longer conceived solely in terms of territory, but also in terms of an accessible linguistic audience. This is one of the reasons behind certain industry strategies. The Canal+ Group has thus invested heavily in Africa, a market where the French language allows it to simultaneously reach several countries and tens of millions of potential viewers. Linguistic consistency here becomes a factor of scale, capable of structuring a market beyond national borders. As uses become globalized with digital technology, the question remains: how to choose the language that allows you to reach the right audience size. Sources: • International Organisation of the Francophonie – March 16, 2026 • France Diplomacy – March 20, 2026 • Le Figaro – March 17, 2026 • Franceinfo – March 17, 2026 • Le Parisien Étudiant – March 19, 2026 • Ethnologist – 2026 • W3Techs – March 20, 2026 • INSEAD Knowledge – May 22, 2017

Google, one of the world's largest technology companies, is launching an initiative related to the duanju format. Through 100 Zeros, developed with the American company Range Media Partners, the group is financing and structuring short series designed for mobile phones, with initial exposure planned on the Google TV app for Android. For the public, the issue is concrete: duanju would no longer be confined to a specialized application, but integrated into a discovery and recommendation interface already established in the uses of the general public. The industrial signal is important. When a player of this size opens a window onto the duanju, the format changes status. It's no longer just about producing quickly, but about organizing the circulation of works, their visibility, and their monetization within a distribution framework conceived beforehand. If the initial exposure occurs on Google TV before wider distribution, then the format, pacing, talent involved, and business model are considered from the outset in relation to their distribution trajectory. This is undoubtedly one of the most structuring aspects of the project. The choice of the initial talent partners reflects this same approach. Mike Fleiss is known for creating The Bachelor, one of the biggest American reality television franchises. McG comes from commercial film and mainstream television production. Simon Fuller is the creator of Pop Idol and American Idol, two global music entertainment formats. Kenan Thompson is one of the most established faces in American television comedy. Until now, the sector's growth has relied primarily on players born with mobile, often with an Asian focus and direct acquisition strategies. This doesn't guarantee an immediate shift, but it does show that vertical fiction is beginning to be considered a possible component of large digital distribution architectures. Sources: • Reuters – May 5, 2025 • C21Media – March 13, 2026 • Deadline – March 12, 2026 • Synopsis – March 13, 2026

"A country that no longer controls its narratives is a country that loses its soul. And an industry that no longer controls its formats is an industry that loses its future." It was with this quote attributed to the famous French director Bertrand Tavernier that Isabelle Degeorges recently raised the debate surrounding fiction for mobile phones. Isabelle Degeorges, President of Gaumont Television France since 2013, heads the French television branch of Gaumont. The group, founded in 1895, is considered the oldest film and television production company still in operation in the world. In two posts published on LinkedIn, she does not reject the duanju format. Rather, she raises awareness about what it reveals: the rise of new uses, new platforms, and new dependencies. For her, the issue is simultaneously cultural, industrial, technological, strategic, and political. His argument places the challenge of a response not on a French scale, but on a European scale. In her second post, she emphasizes Europe's dependence on infrastructure, platforms, operating systems, servers, and now artificial intelligence, largely governed by American law. She specifically points out that, through the Cloud Act, data hosted in France can be subject to foreign law. Applied to the duanju format, this reasoning takes on a particular dimension. If the formats, distribution platforms, algorithmic logic, and, in the future, the production tools are designed elsewhere, France and Europe risk losing not only control over their narratives, but also over their circulation and monetization. Duanju then becomes more than just a new narrative language: it also becomes a test of digital sovereignty. Isabelle Degeorges explicitly questions the risk that duanju will become "yet another threat to our cultural sovereignty" rather than simply a driver of growth. Aware of these new uses, she raises the alarm and calls for a renewed industrial focus on a European scale. This concern echoes other French debates surrounding online platforms. In 2013, during the proposed merger between Yahoo and Dailymotion, French Minister Arnaud Montebourg opposed a sale that would have meant losing control of a French digital player considered strategic, arguing that this "flagship of the web" should not be handed over to a foreign group. Today, Dailymotion remains one of the leading video streaming platforms for professional media. The potential for a revival and renewed success with the general public is not out of the question, especially given the tensions inherent in globalization. Revisited in light of duanju, this earlier episode with Dailymotion reminds us that behind emerging formats, the issue is never only one of innovation. It is also about who owns the tools, who controls distribution, and who shapes the digital future of storytelling. Find Isabelle Degeorges' publications on LinkedIn: Article written by Guillaume Sanjorge #GuillaumeSanjorge