# DCP Award for Base Creators "Solars": Imagining a Protopian Future Beyond the Screen

> Antoine Cathalau on protopia, blockchain worldbuilding, and imagining a civilization in motion

**Published by:** [Decentralized Pictures](https://paragraph.com/@decentralizedpictures/)
**Published on:** 2026-02-18
**Categories:** transmedia, sci-fi, utopia, ai, blockchain, visuals
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@decentralizedpictures/solars-imagining-a-protopian-future-beyond-the-screen

## Content

Most science fiction stories ask what will go wrong, and what version of Hero's Journey will it take to make it right again. Antoine Cathalau asks something...riskier: what if we imagined what could go right, and how to live in it? Solars isn't just a film concept. It's a transmedia universe unfolding across writing, digital art, AI-assisted imagery, and eventually (if Antoine has his way) the cinema screen. At its core, Solars explores a society dedicated to enlightenment and harmony, not as perfection, but as practice; with nature, with others, and within yourself. Antoine calls it protopia. Antoine believes imagination isn't neutral: it shapes engineers, coders, policymakers, creators...if we only imagine collapse, we rehearse collapse (herein lies the law of attraction). The universe spans millennia. Characters resonate across time. A network society, inspired in part by decentralized governance and blockchain culture, connects individuals beyond geography. Still, despite the digital scaffolding, Antoine is clear about one thing: Solars is meant for cinema. The theatre screen is its emotional home. The surrounding NFTs, digital objects, and onchain experiments are extensions, fragments of a larger mythology being built in public. We spoke with Antoine about protopia, AI, decentralization, and why he thinks the future is something we practice, and not something that just happens to us. Read on kids...it's worth it! 1. For those discovering Solars for the first time, how would you describe the project?Solars is a transmedia sci-fi universe. It’s designed to live across cinema, writing, and digital formats. At its core, it explores a society dedicated to enlightenment and harmony, harmony with nature, with others, and with oneself. I describe it as a protopia: not a fixed utopia, but a future that’s always in motion, always being built. It’s imperfect, dynamic, and constantly evolving toward something better.2. The idea of “protopia” feels deeply personal. How does it connect to your own life and creative practice?I think protopia applies to everyone. We constantly imagine better outcomes; for our lives, for our projects. Athletes do this through visualization, and I think creators do it too, often unconsciously. Science fiction has traditionally focused on dystopia, what will go wrong. But sci-fi shapes imagination. It influences engineers, builders, and thinkers. I wanted to explore how imagining better futures could strengthen resilience instead of fear.3. The visuals of Solars feel distinct, futuristic, yet calm. How did you develop that aesthetic?I began working with AI tools about three years ago. They allowed me to represent things I simply couldn’t before, especially in a sci-fi context. A big challenge was moving beyond the default tropes, violent or dark imagery, and instead creating serene, positive characters. I’m still refining a visual language that sits somewhere between painting and photography. It’s important to me that the audience understands this world isn’t “real”, it’s imagined, constructed, and intentional.4. How does blockchain fit into Solars worldbuilding?Blockchain enables participation and decentralization. It allows me to collaborate from the countryside, outside traditional industry centers like Paris, which would’ve been a real limitation before. Beyond technology, there’s a culture here: remote collaboration, shared ownership, new forms of governance. That mindset aligns deeply with Solars philosophy.5. What kind of experience do you ultimately want Solars to become?My goal is cinema. I think in terms of the theater screen. Solars is meant to become a feature film and offer a new kind of theatrical experience. There will be surrounding elements; NFTs, digital objects, extended worlds, but the main narrative lives in cinema. That’s where I imagine its emotional core.6. What does success look like for you, twenty years from now?I think of Infinite Games. The goal of an infinite game isn’t to win, it’s to keep playing. If in twenty years I’m still creating, still evolving, and this universe has touched people across cultures and generations, then I’ll consider that success.Follow us on socials, join our Discord, and stay tuned for more TALNT Cast podcasts. X: https://x.com/DCP_Foundation IG: https://www.instagram.com/decentralized_pictures/ Discord: https://discord.gg/AEVmxkSq YouTube TALNT Cast:https://www.youtube.com/@decentralizedpictures

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