DUANJU

Interviewed by Wenwen Han as part of the roundtable organized by the Short Drama Alliance, Victor Portrel, Director of External Strategy at TheSoul Publishing, embodies a new generation of content strategists. Based in London, he closely observes the rise of short dramas, these ultra-short, vertical fictions that are reshaping video usage on mobile devices. For him, this format is neither a miniature version of cinema nor a passing trend, but a language in its own right, with

In London, Sea Star Productions is one of the young teams exploring the language of vertical storytelling. Under the creative direction of Bethany Thomson, the British company seeks to combine technical rigor with the joy of telling short stories. Between film and digital content, its ambition is simple: to create, learn, and bring new forms of storytelling to life. The vertical format as a testing ground Specializing in the production of micro-fictions shot for smartphones,

During the roundtable discussion, "Short Drama Forum 2025," organized by Wenwen Han, Sanidhya Narain shared his experience and vision for the Indian mobile drama market. As co-founder of Dashverse, a mobile-first entertainment service with products like DashReels, he represents a generation of entrepreneurs directly shaping the future of the format. A colossal and young market For Sanidhya Narain, India has an incomparable asset: an extremely young population, massively conne

In an Istanbul office, Ömer Abacıoğlu speaks with quiet energy about the ongoing revolution in the audiovisual industry. The developer of ReelPix, a new vertical short film platform, believes a new narrative language is emerging at the intersection of Turkish television and global mobile consumption. He spoke in an interview with Wenwen Han at a " Short Drama Forum 2025" event. From television to the mobile world After more than ten years in the television industry, with sol

Amid the hustle and bustle of American studios, one actor quickly made the leap into duanju: Michael Vaccaro. A New Yorker living in Los Angeles, he started out as a child, working in films, commercials, and theater, before finding himself, like many others, interrupted by the health crisis and the strikes that paralyzed Hollywood. It was then that he discovered a new playing field: verticals, or duanju, short fictions designed for mobile devices. As the first American vertic

Invited to the Short Drama Forum 2025, organized by Wenwen Han, Leonid Ovdiienko, founder of the DramaShorts application, shared his vision of a booming market. Leo Ovdiienko first launched Alpha Novel, an online marketplace for novels. He quickly noticed the rise of micro-dramas, particularly in the American market. The team then decided to adapt his books into short films designed for the vertical screen. DramaShorts began production in Europe before expanding to the United

Invited to the Short Drama Forum 2025, organized by Wenwen Han, Bogdan Nesvit, founder and CEO of Holywater (stylised as HOLYWATER), presented his vision of a new creative ecosystem, where data, artificial intelligence and vertical format transform the way stories are produced and distributed. From reading to vertical series “We’re building an AI-powered entertainment network with multiple connected products. At the heart of this ecosystem is our book platform, My Passion. We

A familiar figure to 1980s TV viewers, Michel La Rosa made his mark as a host before turning to fiction. His unique journey resonates today with the revival of a series he proudly leads. Michel La Rosa established himself on television thanks to his ability to unite audiences and highlight prominent guests. His memorable interviews, now preserved at the National Audiovisual Institute (INA), demonstrate the diversity of the personalities he hosted: Jean Rafa, Isabelle Aubret,

During the screening organized by the Studio Phocéen association on June 14, 2025 in Paris, Alexandre Perrin and Adrien Cottinaud presented StoryTV, their streaming platform dedicated to vertical micro-series designed for mobile. Formerly a creative director at Chefclub, Alexandre Perrin comes from a social media background and has mastered the codes of mobile attention. Adrien Cottinaud, who has a background in classic television writing, brings expertise focused on emotion

On journalist Jen Cooper 's Vertical Drama Love channel, actress Juliette Cécile looks back on her unique career, her notable characters...

In the world of dubbing, some careers emerge from unexpected sources. In Amiens, Tony Leva forged his own path by assembling a team of actors who today give a French voice to mobile series from Asia. His work illustrates how duanju, a short, vertical format, is beginning to resonate with French speakers. From freelance to studio creation It all began on the Fiverr platform. Contacted by a Chinese client, Tony Leva agreed to put together a team to dub vertical format fiction.

At the event organized by the Studio Phocéen association on June 14, 2025, Veronica Angeles-Franco offered an insightful look at the rise of vertical fiction in Latin America. Between the legacy of telenovelas and new writing dynamics, this Mexican producer and screenwriter drew on more than twenty years of experience in the audiovisual industry to share a rich and inspired vision. For someone who has worked in Mexico, the United States, and South America, the vertical format

At the event organized by the Studio Phocéen association on June 14, 2025 in Paris, Jenny Rosen, an American screenwriter specializing in vertical fiction, shared her experience and vision of the sector. Based in Los Angeles, she now writes for platforms like Duanju Reelshort and Alta TV after having learned her trade on Wattpad, a site that allows authors to publish their stories for free and readers from all over the world to discover them. Her stories have accumulated more

During the event organized by the Studio Phocéen association on June 14, 2025 in Paris, the British producer Adam Gee, who came especially for the occasion, delivered a reflection on the place of mobile creation in the contemporary audiovisual landscape. Five-time BAFTA and Emmy Award winner Adam Gee has long been at the forefront of British television, pioneering formats such as Embarrassing Bodies (a mainstream, interactive health show on Channel 4) and Big Art Mob (a colla

On June 14, 2025, during the second public screening evening organized by the Studio Phocéen association in Paris, Mexican screenwriter Yamile Vaena shared her author's perspective on the narrative upheavals brought about by vertical fiction. A writer since childhood, rewarded for her first youth stories, Yamile Vaena has explored all formats: short stories, novels, advertising, audio, series, podcasts... before becoming one of the most prolific screenwriters in vertical dram

On June 14, 2025, during the second public screening evening organized by Studio Phocéen association in Paris, Californian professional Karla M. Rodriguez delivered a presentation on the evolution of formats and new production dynamics around duanju. A former Sony Pictures and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences employee , Karla M. Rodriguez helped pioneer the mobile video boom by joining Vogue and Condé Nast . She now works in casting and partnership development for

On June 14, 2025, during the second public screening evening organized by Studio Phocéen association in Paris on the Duanju, Chinese producer Wenwen Han opened the videoconference with a striking intervention. Founder of the Short Drama Alliance and host of the Short Drama Decode channel, she shared a rich and documented presentation on the rise of short fiction in China. Wenwen Han places the duanju format within a long history: that of Chinese online novels, which appeared

On June 14, 2025, at the second public screening of the Duanju format organized by Studio Phocéen association in Paris, British journalist Jen Cooper opened the evening with a remarkable video presentation. Founder of the specialized media Vertical Drama Love and initiator of the genre's Fan Awards , she shared a personal and illuminating vision of this new fiction format. A former bookseller with a passion for romance, Jen Cooper presents herself as a "typical" viewer of the

On journalist Jen Cooper 's Vertical Drama Love channel, actor Nick Ritacco looks back on his career, his notable roles and his vision of...

In an interview with WenWen Han on the YouTube channel Short Drama Decode , American producer Chris Wicke looks back on his career and...