In the world of international finance, it is rare to find a storyteller. Yet, for veteran producer Patrice Poujol, the jump from managing a 10-billion-euro banking portfolio to the film industry was a natural move. He is now changing how films are made and funded, using blockchain to bypass traditional studios and hand more power to the audience.
“The era of the traditional gatekeeper is coming to an end,” Poujol Monaco Life during the recent WAIB conference in Monaco. “By allowing communities to help create and even own a share of the art they love, we are breaking a cycle that has kept fans on the sidelines for generations.”
As his platform, W3BFLIX, brings on partners like Animoca Brands and Decentraland, his mission remains focused: the future of entertainment should be shaped by the audience. This platform operates as a streaming service built directly into the Telegram app—using blockchain to turn passive viewing into a participatory experience.
“The film industry has been defined by closed-door processes for far too long,” Poujol explains. “Our goal is to make every dollar of a production budget visible and easy to track.” His approach relies on three core principles: involving the community in the creative process, using clear digital agreements to ensure creators are paid fairly, and putting a priority on user privacy. Poujol first noticed these gaps in transparency while working in Hong Kong and Singapore, where he founded his company, Lumière. He saw that the way money moved through the industry often left both creators and investors in the dark. In 2018, he completed a PhD focused on how digital ledger technologies could fix those issues, paving the way for his current work.
From banking to the big screen
Poujol’s transition from banking to filmmaking is the result of 20 years of balancing both worlds. While some worry that the arts suffer during economic downturns, Poujol takes a different view. “When the economy struggles, people need an escape more than ever,” he notes.
His platform is built to operate regardless of market conditions. His interest in film goes back to the 1980s, when he first started filming on VHS tapes. He cites Sergio Leone’s classic Once Upon a Time in the West as a major influence. “Leone taught me that cinema isn’t just about the plot; it’s about character and the weight of a gaze,” Poujol reflects. “I want to bring that level of craft to modern audiences, even if it is delivered in short, episodic formats.”
New projects on the horizon
Among his upcoming projects is an animated series, called ‘W3BFLIXED’, that he describes as a ‘Crypto South Park’. The show follows a group of digital characters who break out of their online world to navigate real life, using sharp humor to poke fun at industry habits. The project adds to his track record. Poujol was a pioneer in using modern financial techniques to ‘tokenise’ direct investment in film equity, starting with the Algerian film Papicha. Selected for the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival, Papicha went on to win two César Awards in 2020.
As the platform grows, the team is now looking for new partners and sponsors who want to help build this innovative way of making films. Staying true to his focus on letting the audience have a say, the team is also trying something different with their upcoming animated series. Fans who hold the project’s digital tokens—or NFTs—will have the chance to audition for parts in the show. It’s a way to let the platform’s one-million-strong community actually help decide who makes it onto the screen.
Having experienced the ‘subprime crises’ in 2008, Poujol is now fully committed to radical transparency. Rather than looking back at the limitations of the past, he is focused on the immediate future: building an ecosystem where the barriers between production and audience vanish entirely.
For Poujol, the goal isn’t just to change the way films are financed, but to ensure that the weight and craft of cinematic storytelling—the very thing that captivated him on VHS decades ago—remains at the heart of the industry’s evolution.
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Photo: Patrice Poujol at WAIB Summit 2026 in Monaco / Photo credit: Final Chain Films