DUANJU  NEWS

Over the past decade, the way we watch series has changed profoundly. With the rise of streaming, binge-watching, watching episodes one after the other without a break, has become almost the norm. Netflix, almost in spite of itself, has imposed this model by making all seasons available as soon as they are released. Added to this is another phenomenon, already noted in 2017 by France Inter : "speed-watching." More and more viewers are speeding up their series, watching them at 1.25x or 1.5x, to save time without sacrificing content. In his column, the journalist explicitly notes: "It's the length of the episodes that will have to be shortened." This reflex illustrates a contemporary paradox: wanting to see everything, consume everything, without having the time. It also reveals a need among some users: that of brevity. In an article published in 2017, Alexandre Foatelli (INA) discusses the effects of binge-watching and speed-watching, which weaken silences, glances and breathing, discreet but essential elements of narration. In 2020, Olivier Joyard, in Les Inrockuptibles, took a critical look at this practice. Beyond saving time, he denounced a utilitarian consumption of the story: accelerated viewing transforms series into anecdotal objects, emptied of their tension and emotional charge. In 2023, Valérie Parlan, in Ouest-France, noted the anchoring of " speed-watching " in usage: almost a third of viewers would now resort to it, seeking to optimize their time. Finally, in 2025, Katia De la Ballina observed in Le Point a general exhaustion: overwhelmed by the offer, a majority of viewers admit to being tired of the inflation of content and the implicit obligation to follow everything. These findings reveal the lack of a truly suitable soap opera format. Already busy with busy days, viewers struggle to devote several hours to a series without feeling a kind of bitterness: that of having sacrificed too much of their lives to entertainment. Look better, look short: Asian responsiveness. Chinese producers and platforms have developed a new format: duanju. Driven by an already profitable economy, it is gaining popularity and is beginning to be exported. It offers episodes of 1 to 3 minutes. Whereas a classic series lasts ten hours in total, duanju condenses the entire plot into one hour. His challenge now will be to attract the most ambitious creators and artists of the genre. Article written by Guillaume Sanjorge #GuillaumeSanjorge Sources: • France Inter , January 3, 2017 • INA – The Media Review , September 25, 2017 • Les Inrocks , August 17, 2020 • Ouest-France , February 1, 2023 • Le Point , July 1, 2025

We're in London, and a new generation of creators is taking on the Duanju format. Among them, Onset Octopus is emerging as a key player in this transition to mobile drama. Already more than 15 series produced. Founded by producer Ben Pengilly , the studio is churning out vertical dramas delivered to platforms like DramaBox and ReelShort. Its team is cosmopolitan, experienced, and built for the vertical format. Samantha has produced six series since 2024, including My Serial Killer Lover . Award-winning director Dan Löwenstein blends dramatic tension with social issues. Hui Zhang, trained in China and at the London Film School, masters the codes of mobile storytelling. The studio also collaborates with Andrea Catinella, Jenn Ravenna Tran, and Henk Pretorius, from Italy, the United States, and South Africa, all specialists in short, visual, and effective storytelling. Onset Octopus aims to make the United Kingdom a new creative hub for vertical drama. Located in the heart of a pool of English-speaking actors, Pengilly benefits from a strategic advantage: offering content in English, the genre's main export language. Sources: • The Times , July 22, 2025

A familiar figure to 1980s TV viewers, Michel La Rosa made his mark as a host before turning to fiction. His unique journey resonates today with the revival of a series he proudly leads. Michel La Rosa established himself on television thanks to his ability to unite audiences and highlight prominent guests. His memorable interviews, now preserved at the National Audiovisual Institute (INA), demonstrate the diversity of the personalities he hosted: Jean Rafa, Isabelle Aubret, Odette Joyeux, Jacques Demy, and Darry Cowl. He then went on to popular programs: Tremplin on FR3 Méditerranée (1985-1987), then in 1990 on Antenne 2 with Matin Bonheur, Été Show, Villa de star and Ça va tanguer. A trajectory marked by success, abruptly interrupted in 1990, when he left television at the request of President François Mitterrand, at the time of the announcement of France's entry into the Gulf War. This decision pushed him to reinvent himself, cultivating a fresh perspective on creation and sincerity in his profession. The fame he acquired quickly opened up new horizons for him: he returned to the microphone on France Inter, then returned to TF1 as host of Shopping Avenue Matin and Télévitrine (1998-2013). Michel La Rosa joins the " King Gandolfi " series Under its former name, Draculi & Gandolfi, the series made its mark on cable and regional TV channels in the 2010s with its quirky tone and deep roots in medieval heritage. Regional and national press, from Var-Matin and Sud-Ouest to La Provence and including Télé-Loisirs and Premiere, extensively covered its spectacular film shoots. These productions were notable for their costumes, casting, and the large number of extras, particularly in Marseille, Les Goudes, the Frioul islands, the Gaou peninsula, the Château de Tarascon, and various other historical monuments in the south of France. In 2020 on Radio Maritima, Michel La Rosa talked about the series on the occasion of screenings in the South of France. The same year with Benjy Doti, Michel La Rosa discussed the success of the series on social media. June 14, 2025 Screening Michel La Rosa is participating in a screening organized by the Studio Phocéen association on June 14, 2025, in Paris. On this occasion, he spoke about his meeting with Guillaume Sanjorge, the director of the series King Gandolfi which was shown that evening. Their meeting was not a recent one, dating back about fifteen years, thanks to Frédéric Perrin, the director of the Le Prado cinema in Marseille. Michel La Rosa recalled being struck by the young director's passion and conviction: "This young man spoke to me with an obvious passion, with a desire, and I sensed talent." Convinced, he agreed to play King Gandolfi, the central character of the series' medieval universe. Discover Michel La Rosa's speech from the June 14 screening: Roi Gandolfi, a Saga Reborn Today, the story is being reborn under the title "King Gandolfi," adapted for current technology and the Duanju format: vertical, short, and fast-paced episodes designed to be watched on a phone. More than just a simple comeback, this project embodies the dialogue between television history and digital innovation, driven by the commitment of an actor, Michel La Rosa, who has successfully spanned the eras. Source : VarMatin , Auguste 26, 2020 Southwest , September 10, 2019 All Culture , April 28, 2016 Télé Loisir , Télé 2 Week on February 17, 2016 Provence , July 3, 2012 Premiere , August 20, 2010

In the article " When Comics Created Weekly Suspense " I said, but without elaborating, that the arrival of digital had transformed the economic model of comics (although classic albums remain very numerous on the shelves of our bookstores!). This deserves to be addressed here. So let's go! This is direct online publication, which does not only mean a change of medium: these creations, from the end of the 90s of the 20th century, would influence major elements, such as graphic style or fragmented narration. And this for the better (rich and unforeseen innovations) or for the worse (facilities, inconsistencies, immediate correspondences with advertising concerns). See Maliki, XKCD or The Oatmeal. The link with the reader was also disrupted: possibilities of immediate reactions generating a new form of interaction. Apparent distancing of publishers in the usual sense of the term, although traditional publishing houses are also evolving by offering digital versions of their collections... While conversely, digital comics can give rise to... Paper editions! Applications were going to correspond to these new trends: Izneo, Tapas or Webtoon. We talk about scrolling format, namely the fact of scrolling content on a computer screen (scroller), including vertical reading (we know!). It is difficult to fully describe a fluid universe, by nature unstable, capable of doing without the famous text bubbles or of suddenly integrating elements of augmented reality, hyperlinks or even video games! Note, financially, for the actors, the new role of participatory financing ! What conclusion should we draw? But... should we draw a conclusion? This is a new stage still in progress: I have already mentioned, in my opinion, what are its clearly visible characteristics. Here at our Duanju site, we'll be keeping an eye out! As always... Article written by Jean-Marie Sanjorge #JeanMarieSanjorge

Following on from previous texts where I wanted to discuss the division of comics into well-known magazines and then their current evolution linked to new methods of distribution . Today I would like to talk about the practice of splitting that was once applied to literary works (including great novels that later became classics) through what was called the serial novel , a form of publication in episodes in widely circulated newspapers, magazines and even booklets, which captivated millions of readers. In this context, we found notions that are now familiar to us: As with the comics we talked about, daily or weekly suspense: each episode often ended with an expectation or a twist, encouraging readers to buy the next newspaper to "find out what happens next": we would call this nowadays a concern for... loyalty! In addition, even if it is not directly our subject, it should be noted that this "journalistic" format allowed the working classes to access literature as part of a general trend towards democratization... We have forgotten, for example, that Victor Hugo published some of his novels in serial form! The famous Les Misérables was published in several "episodes" in the form of booklets, like a serial, but in a more prestigious setting than a daily newspaper, which corresponded to the author's concern... Gustave Flaubert, despite his reluctance with regard to this process, accepted that Madame Bovary be published in serial form, but in La revue de Paris , a guarantee in his eyes of greater seriousness... Guy de Maupassant, for his part, made extensive use of the press, but mainly for his "short stories", therefore short, and not his novels. He published hundreds of short stories in famous newspapers of his time. His novels, such as Une vie , Bel-Ami or Pierre et Jean (1888) were sometimes pre-published in serial form. Maupassant perfectly mastered the rhythm of the serial, with twists and incisive portraits, but he remained fundamentally attached to a literary form more sober than the sensationalist serial novel. Outside France, the most striking example is that of the great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Major novels such as Crime and Punishment , The Idiot , The Possessed and The Brothers Karamazov were all published in serial form in various Russian magazines. This author thus aimed to reach a wide audience, especially since, being frequently in financial difficulty, he needed to quickly obtain the income he needed... Article written by Jean-Marie Sanjorge #JeanMarieSanjorge

The article published by 20 Minutes and signed by Camille Moretti is part of a now well-established "Duanjuphobic" trend: following the president of the CNC (National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image), some French media outlets, such as France Inter and Le Figaro , are approaching the phenomenon of vertical mini-series through the lens of mistrust, even suspicion. The format is becoming an object of concern rather than a subject for analysis. Nothing new, then: the same anxiety, the same defensive reading, the same inability to imagine what an ambitious French creation could be in this emerging field. To date, only Konbini journalist Delphine Rivet has truly posed the question on its proper scale: what to do with this format, how to invest in it, how to elevate it? Her article proposed demanding strong, intelligent or emotional works, and not reducing duanju to its excesses visible on social platforms. It is precisely this void that duanju.news attempts to fill: to show that another model is possible. A model that analyzes the format rather than fears it, that seeks creation rather than caricature, and that considers duanju not as a cultural threat but as a space where French fiction could finally dare to do something new. Read the 20 Minutes article by Camille Moretti: Link Article written by Guillaume Sanjorge #GuillaumeSanjorge #Duanjuphobia

In his opening address at the 2025 La Rochelle Fiction Festival in France, Gaëtan Bruel, president of the National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC), chose to discuss the phenomenon of micro-dramas, better known in China as Duanju. Rather than seeing it as the emergence of a new audiovisual language, he described it as "the perfect counter-example" of what France should be championing. This reticence reflects a profound confusion between a format and the commercial content that accompanied its initial wave of exports. Judging a format based on the first series from Asia is tantamount to judging all of cinema based on its blockbusters. A fear of change rather than a substantive debate Duanju is neither an economic model nor a fixed aesthetic movement: it's a format, just like short films, series, or feature films. Ignoring or dismissing it won't prevent it from establishing itself as a social phenomenon. This rejection speaks volumes about the inertia of an industry struggling to confront the shifts in attention spans and viewing habits. Just a few months earlier, Gaëtan Bruel had already addressed the format in a fatalistic tone, referring to a "prescriptive effect from Asia" without envisioning any French counter-offensive. Rather than pitting models against each other, we should now consider a creative response: how can we make Duanju a new showcase for Francophone creativity, its authors and its ideas? This is precisely the mission that Duanju.news has set for itself: to illuminate, analyze and highlight the artistic forms that emerge around this format and which, far from reducing it to an industrial product, make it a breeding ground for innovation. Article written by Guillaume Sanjorge #GuillaumeSanjorge #Duanjuphobia Sources : • CNC , September 19, 2025

From November 5 to 6, 2025, Shanghai will host the Global Traffic Conference, a major event dedicated to video games, digital applications, technologies, and brands seeking to expand internationally. Organized by Beluga Global, this event attracts thousands of professionals from China and many other countries each year. A program focused on global innovation The program will take place at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center and will feature several thematic summits. Discussions will focus on video games, artificial intelligence, vertical short fiction, and global brand development. Alongside the conferences, a vast exhibition area of 15,000 square meters will host nearly 200 exhibitors from diverse sectors, ranging from consumer technology to short fiction, AI, and video games. More than 30,000 attendees are expected, making this space an international showcase bringing together creators, investors, and digital industry players. The Beluga Pioneer Award, a showcase of international successes Each edition of the GTC is marked by the presentation of the Beluga Pioneer Award, which recognizes companies and creators who have significantly contributed to international expansion. In 2025, the evaluation committee will, for the first time, include the participation of a French producer, Guillaume Sanjorge, founder of the media outlet Duanju.news and president of the Studio Phocéen Association. He collaborates in particular with the Chinese platform Stardust TV, which distributes his productions. This development reflects Beluga Global’s commitment to strengthening the international scope of the event and fostering exchanges between different cultures within the digital industry. To learn more about the Beluga Pioneer Award 2025 and discover the jury members : here Registration : https://baijing.cn/z2M3U Sources: • Baijing.cn , 2025 • ClonBrowser , November 22, 2024

On journalist Jen Cooper 's Vertical Drama Love channel, actress Juliette Cécile looks back on her unique career, her notable characters and her way of inhabiting the vertical format. A former French teacher, Juliette Cécile discovered film sets in the United States almost by chance. Spotted for a small role in a blockbuster, she found a new calling there. She quickly made numerous appearances in American productions, before establishing herself in vertical series with a performance that was at once physical, instinctive, and inhabited. Now based in Los Angeles, she often plays assertive, complex, and sometimes formidable characters. She claims total involvement, even directing her own action scenes: "I took a few hits filming a fight scene, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat." This relationship with the body, with the physical intensity of acting, is part of a popular tradition of visual comedy and expressiveness, which Juliette reinterprets with sincerity and rigor. For her, everything rests on a simple rule: "You can play anything, as long as you do it seriously." However, she points out the limits of a format where the pace can harm the subtlety of the performance : "It's not always easy to nuance a character when you're shooting three episodes a day." At Duanju.news, we hope to see her continue to explore, twist, and deepen this format that suits her so well, both direct and full of humanity. If needed, activate subtitles in your language. #JenCooper

The Global Traffic Conference (GTC) took place in early November. Organized by Beluga Global, the event brought together professionals from China and abroad to discuss video games, artificial intelligence, and short vertical fiction. Nearly 200 exhibitors presented their projects in an atmosphere focused on creativity and international collaboration. Duanju.news correspondent and Chinese producer Wenwen Han traveled to the event to cover it and share the highlights in a short video report. Actress Anina Net, who has appeared in over 50 Duanju series, also appears in the video and offers a brief message to the viewers—a friendly wink. Numerous platforms and studios participated to explore new international collaborations. Among them, the British team Onset Octopus, who came from London with Emma Wang, presented their vertical mini-series and exchanged ideas with several Asian partners interested in their productions. During the official ceremony, Wenwen Han also received the honorary certificate presented to Duanju.news and its founder Guillaume Sanjorge, designated Global Traffic Conference Promotion Ambassador for his contribution to the promotion of the GTC and to the dialogue between European and Asian creativity.