NOIRE | Stéphane Foenkinos and Pierre-Alain Giraud based on Tania de Montaigne’s work

The L.E.V Matadero festival presents Noire, produced by Stéphane Foenkinos and Pierre-Alain Giraud. This work is an immersive augmented reality experience based on the work of Tania de Montaigne that vindicates the figure of Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old black teenager who, in 1955, refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Arrested and determined to plead her innocence, Claudette took the city to court in an act of bravery that preceded that of Rosa Parks but was relegated to oblivion.

This work transports the viewer to the heart of racial segregation in Alabama through augmented reality, creating an intimate and revealing dialogue between present and past. Noire invites the audience to inhabit Claudette’s memory, honor it, and reflect on the importance of making visible stories essential to collective memory.

The experience is a production of Novaya, a studio dedicated to creating immersive art projects that utilize augmented reality to tell meaningful stories. Through the collaboration of artists, engineers, and producers, Novaya develops virtual and interactive environments where technological innovation serves the storytelling. Noire, presented at the Cannes Film Festival, is a prime example of this philosophy, demonstrating how augmented reality and culture can work in tandem to create experiences with both social and artistic impact.

The project, which seamlessly blends art and technology, was awarded the Prize for Best Immersive Work at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.