Mediawan’s Imagissime label and immersive media pioneer Atlas V have teamed up to create Paradoxes, a surreal sci-fi comedy series that combines live action and generative AI, starring Xavier Lacaille (Parlement), Zita Hanlot (The Hookup Plan), and Nora Hamzaoui. (“Irma Vep”), Osama Kedam and other up-and-coming performers. (“Mez Premier Vacation”).
Arte France has ordered the series to be co-produced and streamed on its service, with Mediawan Rights distributing internationally. Paradoxes, currently filming until next month, has secured public funding from CNC and the Ile-de-France region, as well as research and development support from Google in the field of AI.
The six-part drama, directed by Pierre Zandrowicz (I, Philippe), tells the story of Roman (Lacaille), a depressed journalist who travels to the forest to report on a rare oak species for Bois Magazine, and falls into a growing quantum anomaly caused by enthusiastic scientist Lee (Hanlot). The latter, while the military and Roman’s unconventional therapist (Hamzawi) try to contain the catastrophe, soon discover that the interior of the alternate zone is actually the actualization of Roman’s tormented subconscious, a surreal mindscape where neuroses, fantasies, childhood memories, and shameful ghosts spill out into physical reality. “Paradoxes” was created and written by Maxime Donzel and Emilie Valentin.
Zandrowicz, who co-founded Atlas V with Antoine Cayrol and Arnaud Colinart in 2017, previously directed the VR short films “I, Philip” and “Mirror,” and produced a string of festival award-winning features including “Gloomy Eyes” and “Battlescar.” Zandrowicz previously collaborated with Hanrot on Mirror, a narrative sci-fi VR short in the vein of Under The Skin and Annihilation. For “Paradox,” he said he was inspired by the surrealism and existential playfulness of the works of Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze, and Charlie Kaufman, which blur the lines between the conscious and the unconscious, the absurd and the real.
“Paradoxes” is Atlas V’s first all-original live-action series, and is available on Netflix (“Gregory,” “L’affaire Florence Cassez”), Disney+ (“L’affaire Swagg Man: Hip-hop, Impact et bitcoins”), France Télévisions (“Féroces”), Arte (“Yakuza”), TF1 (“Temple solaire: L’enquête”), possible”), Canal+ (“X contre Z”). Under the direction of Polo Ackerman, Banner has recently begun producing fiction, experimenting with hybrid narration with “Paradox.”
Polo-Ackermann told Variety that Imagisim “connected with this project because of its high quality. All the work that Atlas has done over the years in a very innovative field has always put story at the center of everything.”
“Pierre has an incredible talent and a worldview that sits on the edge of the absurd, tackling the topic of mental health,” he said, adding that the theme is universal, pointing to Benedict Cumberbatch’s “Patrick Melrose,” in which he played a wealthy dandy struggling with heroin addiction. There’s also “Vie Privée,” in which Jodie Foster plays a therapist who goes into a nervous breakdown after a patient commits suicide.
Atlas V COO Orian Hlaard said the banner was a direct result of Zandrovich’s artistic dive into generative AI, which started developing Paradoxes a year and a half ago.
Despite its cutting-edge aesthetic, the writing process for “Paradoxe” followed a traditional path. Arte teamed up Zandrovich with Donzel and Valentin, two experienced comedy writers who have worked at OCS, France Television and Disney+, Fraard said.
Arte’s digital creation unit also played a key role in guiding Paradoxes, which has a highly sophisticated visual pipeline. While the real world depicted in the series is traditionally filmed with actors in physical locations, Roman’s inner psyche (also known as the Zone) is designed with generative AI, Fraldo explained, also noting that complex transition sequences, such as a character crossing a portal between the real world and the psyche, required mixed techniques such as green screen setups, 3D mapping, and motion capture.
“Paradoxes” also received unexpected support from the French military, who enthusiastically joined the project after seeing a video of the prototype put together by Atlas V and Imagissime. Their assistance went far beyond access to filming locations, with the producers having access to military training grounds, tents, and vehicles, as well as the benefit of consultants who advised the actors on terminology and weapon handling. Recent scenes were shot at the Montléry military base, and production is currently being filmed at a studio in Brie-sur-Marne.
Frado framed “Paradoxes” as a natural evolution of Atlas V and Arte’s 10-year collaboration, from early VR shorts to the introduction of generative AI into narrative storytelling. However, Polo-Ackermann says that Paradox is not an experimental work, but rather “a series rooted in traditional fiction that uses cutting-edge tools to explore the unknown landscapes of the mind with a blend of emotional surrealism and sharp comedy.”
