MARTIN ARNAUD: Show Designer and Director
From the 1998 Football World Cup Opening Ceremony to “Yo, México”, a track record that testifies to a passion.
After studying philosophy, Martin Arnaud started out as an assistant director in 1992, working with some of Europe's top directors. While he occupied this role – most notably at the Théâtre National de Chaillot alongside Jérôme Savary – Martin followed closely and developed, with a team of experts, cutting-edge technologies specifically for the stage.
In 1998, Martin directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the Football World Cup in Paris, and thus made his entry into the world of large-scale shows. In addition to major ceremonies, including for the opening and closing of the All Africa Games in Nigeria, the Athens Paralympics and the 2008 UEFA EURO, Martin is credited with a number of multimedia shows in which the most avant-garde techniques from across the globe were deployed.
With the recent “Bollywoodland”, he returned to his first love – the stage. This magnificent, magical show heralded a new genre, boldly interweaving and cutting across theatre, musicals and cinema. “México en el Corazón”, a multimedia show commissioned to celebrate the 199th anniversary of the country's independence, and “Yo, México”, marking the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution, respectively dazzled more than 2.5 million and 3 million spectators who flocked to the third largest square in the world.
MARILYN KUENTZ: Artistic Producer
After completing studies in law, political science and communications, in 2000 Marilyn Kuentz joined the events company Capital Events, where she worked as project manager and production manager on events in different fields (the luxury industry, retail and public institutions).
While at MTV, Martine Thiebault Valette - an agency specializing in business tourism - Marilyn worked with the artistic director to create the communication/production unit in 2003. Within the new unit, she dealt with made-to-measure scenographic and artistic concepts and productions for pharmaceutical laboratories. In 2004, Marilyn assisted Martin Arnaud in creating and producing the Athens Paralympics ceremonies.
From late 2004 to 2007, she worked on a range of different events, including the live and multimedia show “El Tajín” in Mexico (2007), the “Ben-Hur Train” tour to promote the Ben-Hur stadium spectacular at Paris' Stade de France in 2005, and the 2006 “Open Orange” launch in France. In 2007 she joined forces with Martin Arnaud to found Les Petits Français, where she is in charge of the artistic production of the agency's live and multimedia shows.