Opening Title Sequence for Les Aventuriers de l’Art moderne
Broadcast: Arte (2015)
Technique: Paper stop motion animation
Production: Silex Films / Arte France / Financière Pinault
Directed by: Lorenzo Papace & Vincent Pianina
In 2015, I was invited by the production company Silex Films to create, together with my friend and collaborator Vincent Pianina, the opening title sequence for the animated documentary series The Adventurers of Modern Art (Les Aventuriers de l’Art Moderne). This outstanding project, co-produced by Arte and Financière Pinault, was directed by Amélie Harrault, Pauline Gaillard, and Valérie Loiseleux, and adapted from Dan Franck’s trilogy Bohemian Paris, Libertad! and Midnight.
The series immerses viewers in the inner lives of artists and intellectuals in early 20th-century Paris, blending documentary archives with animation: hand-painted glass, ink, paper cut-outs — all crafted into a poetic narrative.
Our mission: to create a magical, nocturnal vision of Paris in a seamless animated tracking shot. A journey through glowing windows, artist studios, and iconic monuments, capturing the creative fervor that once electrified the streets of Montmartre and Montparnasse.
The true challenge of the project lay in the timeline: we had only three weeks between the initial briefing and the final delivery.
We responded by designing and hand-building a complete paper model of Paris: Haussmann buildings, winding alleyways, street lamps, rooftops, and recognizable monuments. Every element was cut and assembled by hand in our studio, then animated frame by frame using traditional stop motion.
No digital effects were used. All lighting and camera movements were created live during filming. The result is a poetic visual choreography — a living, breathing miniature Paris.
Aired on Arte in December 2015, the series received multiple international awards and critical praise:
The title sequence became a visual signature of the series, often cited as a highlight of the show’s introduction. It reflects my personal commitment to handcrafted, poetic storytelling — where narrative, music, and paper intersect.
The Adventurers of Modern Art (Les Aventuriers de l’Art Moderne) is a 6-part animated documentary (52 minutes each), adapted from Dan Franck’s literary trilogy. It explores the lives of Picasso, Matisse, Apollinaire, Kiki de Montparnasse, Cocteau, Breton, and other rebellious spirits who shaped Modern Art from 1900 to WWII.
Watch the full series on Arte :
Les Aventuriers de l’Art Moderne – Arte.tv
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