MyMetaStories 2025: European Cinema Enters Minecraft®

From October 10 to November 2, the third edition of MyMetaStories combines an online film festival with a special event inside the Minecraft® universe (October 10–12). The 2025 program brings together 18 films from 11 European countries—half directed or co-directed by women—covering genres from drama to animation and, for the first time, featuring a full-length animated film.

Within Minecraft®, players can attend screenings of 12 short films at fixed times, participate in mini-games, and explore iconic European film landmarks such as the Trevi Fountain or the Potemkin Steps. Highlights include the series Samuel by Émilie Tronche—screened in a cinema designed around its aesthetic—and a special promotion of Sylvain Chomet’s feature Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol, complete with trailer, themed space, and a dedicated mini-game.

The project strengthens its digital influence strategy, supported by more than thirty creators across different language zones, confirming the appeal of a format that bridges cinema and gaming culture. According to Daniela Elstner, Executive Director of Unifrance, “MyMetaStories is built as a space for the circulation of works, formats, imaginations, and audiences, deepening the reflection on new artistic and cultural distribution models in Europe.”

MyMetaStories World in Minecraft®

The third edition of MyMetaStories reaffirms Unifrance’s commitment to bridging film and gaming culture. In 2025, the festival once again unfolds in two formats: online programming and a special edition inside Minecraft®, the world’s most popular video game, with over 200 million active monthly players. The goal: to engage a young audience —with an average age of 24— through experiences that blend entertainment and cultural immersion.

European Shorts in a Pixelated Universe

Players can attend collective screenings of European short films in virtual cinemas designed to reflect each film’s aesthetic. After each screening, a themed mini-game extends the experience, inviting players to uncover visual and narrative details hidden within the settings. To reinforce its educational dimension, a narrative quest unfolds across six thematic islands —from scriptwriting to promotion— passing through legendary European film sites like the Trevi Fountain, the Potemkin Steps, or Amélie’s Café des Deux Moulins.

The Series Samuel Enters the Game

The major innovation of this edition is the inclusion of a television series within the MyMetaStories universe. Samuel, created by Émilie Tronche and produced by Les Valseurs in co-production with ARTE France, Pictanovo, Pikkukala, RTVE, 3cat, and Solent Productions, will screen its first four episodes in a virtual theater specially designed for the series. The experience expands with a mini-game inspired by the episode “The Swimming Pool,” an encounter with Samuel as a non-playable character (NPC), and the recreation of the official poster in pixel art. Exclusive limited-edition goodies —stickers, notebooks, and caps— also reinterpret the series’ aesthetic in pixel form.

Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol: A Cinematic Activation

For the first time, Minecraft® becomes a platform for film promotion. The highly anticipated Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol by Sylvain Chomet (Les Triplettes de Belleville), premiering in France in October, will feature a themed room where the trailer will be screened, alongside a dedicated mini-game and a pixel art version of the film’s poster. This initiative links the virtual world to the physical cinema, encouraging players to rediscover films on the big screen —a bold experiment in blurring the boundaries between film and video games.

A Multichannel Influence Strategy

Understanding that success depends on digital virality, MyMetaStories deploys a powerful campaign across Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram, involving a variety of creators: top gaming figures such as Tubbo, Shadoune666, and Conterstine, niche micro-influencers, and film critics like Captain Popcorn and MrPaf, who add an editorial perspective. The mix aims to expand reach, connect with diverse communities, and establish MyMetaStories as a hybrid space between digital culture and cinematic discovery.

MyMetaStories 2025: A Showcase for Young European Cinema

MyMetaStories returns in 2025 with a program that celebrates the cultural and linguistic diversity of European cinema. Audiences will be able to access 18 films from 11 countries, reflecting the energy and ingenuity of a new generation of filmmakers.

The lineup includes six feature films, available in six languages —German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese— and twelve short films, both live-action and animated, available in English, Spanish, and French. Spanning comedy, drama, science fiction, road movies, coming-of-age tales, and musicals, the festival underlines the creative richness that defines contemporary Europe.

New Voices in Feature Filmmaking

The selected titles travel across different geographies and styles: Heads or Fails by Lenny & Harpo Guit (Belgium, France), Breaking the Ice by Clara Stern (Austria), Little Jaffna by Lawrence Valin (France), and Silver Star by Ruben Amar and Lola Bessis (France). The list continues with U Are the Universe by Pavlo Ostrikov (Ukraine, Belgium) and Living Large by Kristina Dufková (Czechia, Slovakia, France). Each film affirms the vitality of a cinema in constant evolution.

A Plural Look at the Short Form

The short format also shines at MyMetaStories, with twelve works that explore worlds ranging from absurd humor to poetic animation and narrative experimentation. Highlights include Yuck! by Loïc Espuche (France), Sorry, I’m Late (But I Brought a Choir) by Håkon Anton Alvosen (Norway), and Eureka! by Kris Borghs (Belgium), alongside Favours by Agnes Skonare Karlsson (Sweden), Forever (France), Life Simulator (France), Muscle Man in: Metal Mayhem (Belgium), No Room by Jelena Oroz (Croatia), The Refusers by Wiep Teeuwisse (Netherlands), Sierra by Sander Joon (Estonia), Silviana Deluxe 250 by Frida E. Elmström (Sweden), and Everything We Missed by Marta Prokopová (Slovakia, Czechia).

A Creative Mosaic

Taken together, the 2025 selection forms a kaleidoscopic portrait of European audiovisual creation: intimate and collective stories, intersecting genres, and languages in dialogue. The festival positions the screen as a space for cultural exploration, open to curiosity and discovery.

How to Take Part in the Festival

Online: from October 10 to November 2, 2025, on nearly 30 partner VoD platforms worldwide.
In Minecraft®: from October 10 to 12, 2025, after purchasing a Minecraft® license, installing the Minecraft Java launcher, and downloading the MyMetaStories launcher.

Viewing Rates

Feature films: available* exclusively on the festival’s partner VoD platforms.

• Each VoD platform’s pricing applies.

• In Spanish-speaking Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East: feature films will be available* free of charge.

Short films: available free of charge worldwide.

• On partner VoD platforms*.

• On Unifrance’s YouTube channel*.

• In MyMetaStories World, inside Minecraft®.

*Films may be subject to local geoblocking.

MyMetaStories: Bridging European Cinema and Digital Culture

MyMetaStories is supported by the European Commission’s Creative Europe MEDIA Programme, aiming to foster new ways of connecting young audiences with European cinema.

The festival is backed by a wide network of institutional and media partners, including the French Republic, CNC, Wallonie Bruxelles Images, Estonian Film Institute, Swedish Film Institute, TitraFilm, Cineuropa, France Médias Monde (RFI, France 24, Monte Carlo Doualiya), El Hype, Quadro por Quadro, Cinema Sétima Arte, C7NEMA, Flix.gr, Under the Milky Way, and Coming Soon.

While it uses the Minecraft® universe as a creative and exhibition platform, MyMetaStories is not an official Minecraft® event, nor is it approved or affiliated with Mojang or Microsoft.

About Unifrance

Founded in 1949, Unifrance is the organisation in charge of the international promotion of French cinema and television content. Based in Paris, with representatives in the United States, China, and Japan, it brings together over 1,000 professionals —producers, artists, agents, and distributors— working collectively to promote French audiovisual creation among global audiences, the media, and industry players.

Supported by the French Republic, the CNC, PROCIREP, and numerous public and private partners, Unifrance has remained true to its mission since its creation: to build bridges between the French film industry and the global stage, encouraging cultural dialogue and the worldwide circulation of creative works.