Box Chosen to Collect Archival Footage for Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Original Feature Film

Box, Inc. announced that Notre-Dame on Fire, an unreleased French feature film about the April 2019 fire in the Notre-Dame Cathedral, is using its secure, integrated platform to collect archival footage for inclusion in this first-of-its-kind film production.

The film is being directed by renowned filmmaker, Jean-Jacques Annaud and produced by Pathé Films. It will depict a minute-by-minute portrayal of the 24 hours surrounding the cathedral’s burning through a reconstruction filmed in-studio, mixed with real video-images taken by the public. To collect the archival content from members of the public, Notre-Dame on Fire embedded Box in an advertised, dedicated website. Over 3,000 videos were submitted.

“The tragedy of the Notre-Dame fire was felt globally, and we hoped our call for personal videos would generate significant public response,” said Johann Frarier, director of information systems, Pathé Films. “Jean-Jacques Annaud wanted to gather content that captured the emotional response to the fire, from singing for firefighters in the streets of Paris to reactions abroad. Box was the secure and robust platform we needed to ensure the public could easily answer that call. It was a real challenge and the results exceeded our expectations.“

Powered by Box File Request, the Notre-Dame on Fire website guides submissions through a custom-workflow, enabling:

• Compliance with data privacy and production agreements;
• Uploads of rich media content, including large file sizes, from any device; and
• Collection of contact details for the submission.

The uploaded content is then tagged with those metadata details, enabling the production team to search and organize, as well as preview the videos within Box with Box Preview.

“Notre-Dame on Fire and Pathé Films are using cutting-edge technologies to bring the story of the fire to life,” said Rodolphe Barnault, area VP of Southern Europe, Box. “We are proud to be involved in this important groundbreaking film which captures a seminal moment in French history.“

Notre-Dame on Fire joins project teams at organizations that have leveraged Box to power new ways of working, including Rémy Cointreau, Endemol Shine, and Eurostar. In 2021, Box also announced a partnership with Dolby to transform media in the cloud.

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