Supported by Creative Europe (Media), StoryTANK has been fostering a close collaboration between the worlds of research and storytellers since 2020.
Each season aims to provide a new angle of exploration around the notion of storytelling, its physiological and social functions, illuminated by this dialogue between researchers and authors, screenwriters, playwrights, and more.
The first four seasons were fueled by discussions and deciphering the creative processes that lead to stories, their role in supporting our imaginations, and their ability to help us construct or understand.
As part of its 5th season, the StoryTANK team decided to try a new experiment, led by six captivated and captivating researchers. The goal was to test and film the emergence of story ideas in experimental settings created by THE FACTORY OF WORLDS—a unique facility in Europe that has been under construction at Groupe Ouest since 2023, under the aegis of the French Ministry of Culture. The experiment was offered to 6 screenwriters or fi lmmakers from 6 European countries.
The StoryTANK allows us to explore and shed light on the practices of fiction writers, at a precise moment when story generation is being transformed by the digital revolutions, from artificial intelligence to algorithms. Also, at a time when our social, political, and ecological benchmarks are faltering. The StoryTANK focuses here on three experimental prototypes: (1) the Cave, (2) the Black Room, and (3) the Plateau. This experiment is a first.
Discover it on our brand new web platform and the Youtube channel of StoryTANK.
The new season of StoryTANK was recorded from November 25 to 29, 2024, at Groupe Ouest’s premises, and brought together 6 researchers :
Samira Bourgeois-Bougrine – lecturer in psychology and cognitive ergonomy at the University of Paris Cité (France)
Théo Gorin – actor, improviser, PhD in language sciences (France)
Michael Hanchett Hanson – developmental psychologist, Director of the Masters “Concentration in Creativity and Cognition” at Teachers College, Columbia University (USA)
Jean-Loïc Le Quellec – anthropologist and prehistorian specializing in Saharan rock art (France)
Wendy Ross – researcher at London Metropolitan University, cognitive psychologist (UK)
Yves Sarfati – doctor in medicine and neurosciences (Sorbonne Université UPCM – Paris VI), psychanalyst, writer (France)
6 scriptwriters
Gabrielle Brady – director, screenwriter (Germany, Australia)
Violette Garcia– screenwriter (France)
Massimiliano Nardulli– screenwriter, artistic director, curator, film programmer, consultant, mentor, composer (Italy/ Romania)
Marcel Beaulieu – screenwriter (Canada/France)
Raitis Ābele – director, screenwriter et musician (Latvia)
Isla Badenoch – director, artist, screenwriter (Irlande/UK)
Accompanied by
Aurélie Valat– screenwriter, script consultant & direcion of the season 5 of StoryTANK (France/Greece)
Antoine Le Bos– screenwriter, Founder & Director of Le Groupe Ouest & StoryTANK (France)
