Winning the Digital Experience Award at Ant’Sary Doc Mada, ‘Mialy’ marks a new stage in the career of this self-taught filmmaker, who is gradually transitioning from fiction to documentary.
Telling a lot with a little. This is the approach Julienne Norohasimbola used to conceive ‘Mialy’, a very short documentary portrait of a young woman she wanted to show beyond the common perception. Awarded the Digital Experience Prize at the fourth edition of Ant’Sary Doc Mada, the work brings her new recognition and paves the way for her development in creative documentary filmmaking.
“The award is obviously a great recognition. Above all, it makes me want to continue,” Julienne confides. For her, creation takes on its full meaning when the audience receives what the artist seeks to convey. With ‘Mialy’, her intention was not to define or explain her subject, but to create a genuine encounter with her. Designed for a digital space, the work combines image, text, sound, and rhythm to offer an audiovisual and poetic experience.
The filming, however, imposed a significant constraint: the team had about an hour to capture the essence. “It was a real challenge to tell a lot of things in a very short time, while keeping emotion and a real personality in the project,” she explains. This ability to suggest rather than explain everything seems to have impressed the jury.
The distinction obtained at Ant’Sary Doc Mada is not her first award. In 2025, Julienne received the Audience Award for ‘Manandona: An Untamed Path’, an immersive experience allowing the viewer to explore the territory of Manandona in an approach similar to a video game. This new award confirms her interest in narrative forms that place the viewer at the heart of the experience.
Julienne’s journey has been built as a self-taught artist. She began filmmaking in 2024, supported by a mentor and friend. She learns mainly through practice, by carrying out projects, experimenting, making mistakes, and starting over. “Little by little, I also sought to find my own voice, starting from my experiences and those of the people around me,” she says.
A self-taught filmmaker and landscape photographer, Julienne initially built her career around fiction. One of her films traveled to Quebec, Manitoba, and Cameroon through various festivals. Her taste for exploration also led her to experiences like ‘Manandona’. Today, she is opening up more to documentary, an evolution that leads her to observe and listen differently to the people and realities she films.
Captured & Published at: 2026-10-06 06:24:23 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/10/portrait-julienne-norohasimbola-donne.html