The largest metro system in the first season of METROCOSMOS is in the capital of France - Paris. The metro network covers over 220 km and is currently divided into 16 different lines. With over 4 million passengers per day, it is the most used means of transport in Paris and is bursting at the seams despite constant expansion.
The new line, the “Grand Paris Express”, is intended to counteract the chaos.
We get an exclusive insight into the major underground and overground construction sites of the new line and talk to design luminary Ruedi Bauer, who is responsible for the signaling of the new system. The Swiss communications designer explains how the new system is being planned to coordinate the traveling crowds in a sensible way.
In the hustle and bustle of the crowds at Chatêlet metro station, a few kilometers further on, we meet the Lyon rap legend Oddateee, who gives us a very personal insight into his world. He lets his new track “I am alive” echo through the seemingly endless corridors of the Paris metro for us.
However, the Parisian system is actually much larger than it is shown on the map. Few European cities have as many abandoned stations as Paris. Explorer and Urbex climber Ekton, better known online as “Gangsta Claus”, takes us on an illegal photo shoot in an abandoned 1930s station. A crazy creative project with thrills that has to be perfectly planned.
Despite numerous cameras and security personnel, the Paris underground is a place where many people cannot feel safe. Over 70% of Parisians say they have been harassed at least once in the metro. This information comes from Pauline Vanderquand, who is working to put an end to this negative trend with her app UMAY and an infrastructure of so-called safe spaces.
Finally, we meet the internationally sought-after stuntman Victor Lainé, who sees the escalators of the Paris metro as a training tool and rushes past us at excessive speed. He regularly fulfills the childhood dream of many passengers and slides down the longest escalator in Paris for us - please don't imitate him.
This selection of protagonists represents only half of the people we meet in the METROKOSMOS. As in every episode, we also let the everyday passengers have their say in order to gain an insight into the Paris that takes place outside the tourist bubble.
The Paris episode of METROKOSMOS tells us a lot about the life of Parisians, about a city that is caught between cosmopolitanism and political division - and yes, the Eiffel Tower can also be seen from the windows of the subway.
Credits
A SERIES BY
Timo Novotny
CREATIVE PRODUCER
Sebastian Rieker
CO-AUTHORS
E.L. Petschinka
Katarzyna Kalinska
Sarah Torribio
Harald Salaun
SOUND
Martin Kleinmichel
MIX & MASTERING
Bernhard Schedelberger
MUSIC
Markus Kienzl (Sofa Surfers)
CAMERA
Florian Stratenwerth
Timo Novotny
ADDITIONAL CAMERA
Martin Kleinmichel
Luka Ljubicic
POST PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
Leonard Mink
EDITING
Leonard Mink
Yannik Pföhler
Louisa Göttelmann
Timo Novotny
EDITING ASSISTANCE
Tobias Dierl
VFX & COLORS
Ebo Rose
MOTION DESIGN
Ralf Ott
TYPEFACE
Nik Thönen / Binnenland
RESEARCH
Maren Hollmann
Clara Scheiner (STEP/HFM)
PRODUCERS
Gregor Streiber
Peter Janecek
Sebastian Rieker
Timo Novotny
Friedemann Hottenbacher
LINE PRODUCER
Jonathan Thiemeier
PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE
Clara Scheiner (STEP/HFM)
Steven Melzer
Paulo Muenchrath
PRDUCTION ASSISTANCE PARIS
Rica Hollmann
Maren Hollmann
EDITORIAL BR
Petra Felber, BR
Martin Kowalczyk, BR
Sonja Scheider, BR ARTE
Katja Ferwagner, BR ARTE
EDITORIAL ARTE
Katja Dünnebacke (Arte Deutschland)
Caroline Mutz (Arte G.E.I.E.)
EDITORIAL ČT
Markéta Štinglová
Barbora Svobodová
Jakub Mahler
Daniela Šantrochová
EDITORIAL ORF
Gerald Heidegger
FUNDING
Fernsehfonds Austria
Medienboard Berlin- Brandenburg
Filmfonds Wien
CAST
Oddateee
Ruedi Baur
Ilyane Bechikh
Pauline Vanderquand
Thomas Poly
Victor Lainé
Ekton & Freed
Felix & Hugo Kimberly-Bowen
PASSENGERS & INTERVIEWS
Alexandre Ebe Wenceslas
Hawa Coulilaly
Raphael Lavie
Myriam Colina
Pauline Makon
Maren Hollmann
Kévin Laclautre
Yohann Milan
Nicolas Zanini
RATP — RÉGIE AUTONOME DES TRANSPORTS PARISIENS
Karine Lehongre-Richard
Pierre Audiger
SOCIÉTÉ DU GRAND PARIS EXPRESS
Étienne Minari
Matthieu Ducol
LA FABRIQUE DU MÉTRO
Coraline Knoff
Integral designers
BEST BOY
Loris Novotny
DUBBING
Urs Hauck
DUB ACTORS
Gordon Piedesack
Patrick Lamb
Nina West
Mai Horlemann
Harry Kühn
Tom Vogt
ARTISTS
François Schuiten
Atelier Zündel Cristea
LadyM
Logan Hicks
Nesta
RavoArt
Rouge Hartley
Seth
Swed
Kimsooja
THANKS TO
RATP
Onno Ehlers
Katica De Pascale
Celina Melzer
Jennifer Nemes
Luke Bliedtner
Zdeněk Blaha (IDF)
Anna Kaslová (IDF)
Veronika F. Dvořáčková (IDF)
Ivana Pauerová Miloševičová (IDF)
© INSELFILM/SEEHUND MEDIA/PLAESION FILM/INLOOPS/BR/ČT/ORF, 2024