“MyMetaStories” Festival: dual digital experience

Founded in 1949, UNIFRANCE is the non-profit organisation responsible for the worldwide promotion of audiovisual content produced in French, which it develops in various formats and initiatives such as the online festival MyFrenchFilmFestival. Based on this successful model that has brought French cinema closer to the whole planet, thanks to the subscription (almost everywhere free of charge) of the content directly on its website or through various VOD platforms, comes the new European film festival, MyMetaStories, which will take place from 6 to 29 October.

The programme, which will be unveiled soon, includes 14 short films and 7 feature films representing the genius of European creators from France, Belgium, Austria, Ukraine, Ireland, Greece, Estonia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Serbia. In terms of content, MyMetaStories will focus on films popular with young people, be it genre films, animation and social issues. All films are subtitled in six languages (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German and Italian), so that this first edition will cover most European territories and almost a hundred others outside the continent (United States, Canada, Latin America, French and English-speaking Africa, and Oceania).

The originality of the new festival, of which EL HYPE is a media partner, lies in the fact that the MyMetaStories universe will unfold in the Minecraft^® video game, which in January this year had a whopping 171 million players. The world’s most famous adventure video game, developed by the Swedish company Mojang Studios, allows players to build their own virtual world or wander through those created by others. In them, each piece, each mountain, each tree is made up of small cubes, and allows you to go as far as your imagination allows you to go. Thus, from 13 to 16 October 2023, players will be able to enjoy the experience of living the first in-game festival, where they will be able to discover part of the programme in the cinema that has been created for the occasion, something unprecedented in the history of Minecraft^®, as well as participating in mini-games linked to the films (as many times as they wish), interacting with other players, chatting with the teams that have created them and, in short, learning and getting closer to the cinema through interactive experiences.

The cinema built in the UNIFRANCE city, which has been created on the Minecraft^® server, has four screening rooms. The environment surrounding the cinema also has its own importance, as it includes a rest area or shops. The city, which has been designed to showcase the countries and nationalities of films from all over Europe, hides secret cinemas that screen exclusive short films not accessible in the main cinema. These cinemas have the added interest of surprise and discovery of exclusive content to be enjoyed during the event, plus the possibility to earn golden tickets through games, quests, or by watching films. At the launch of the festival, users will be able to watch a video tutorial explaining the concept and allowing players to choose their server in any of the three language options: French, English and Spanish.

Best of all, the aim of the festival is not only to promote the new opportunities offered by the metaverse to the film industry, but to convert younger audiences and video gamers into film fans by redirecting them to the platforms or cinemas that will make the programme available to them. Like MyFrenchFilmFestival, the new event facilitates free viewing of all short films, worldwide, while feature films will also be free of charge in Latin America, Africa, and the Near and Middle East. In all other territories, the price per film is €1.99 and the festival package for all films (except geo-blocked areas and feature films not available in Asia) is €7.99.