From a Hong Kong beach
to the whole world
30 years of innovation, perseverance and passion. The story of a man who transformed a crazy idea - to project films with a screen as light as a kitesurf sail - into a company that exports to over 50 countries.
A spark on a Hong Kong beach
It all begins on a Hong Kong beach. A kitesurf attracts attention. Its light, wind-resistant inflatable bladders gave rise to an idea that would change everything: what if you could show films outdoors with a screen as light as a kite sail? The idea sounds crazy, but it never left the founder's mind.
The first screen - and the first lesson
The first screen is tubular, ordered from England. On delivery: large, heavy pipes and no idea of how to assemble them. It was a bitter failure, but it was also the start of a stubborn quest: to find the right technology, the right fabric, the right manufacturing method. The lesson is clear: it's not enough to have an idea, you have to realize it yourself.
Fairground school
In the village, a group of fairground workers are shunned by everyone. But instead of ignoring them, the founder turns to them to learn how to build structures. Two days of intensive training in the field, putting up tents with poles and benches. It's brutal, physical, and incredibly instructive. Fairgoers pass on ancestral know-how that no one else possesses.
"Now you're a real showman. You can go on tour."
La voilerie bretonne - La Trinité-sur-Mer
In La Trinité-sur-Mer, Brittany, a sailmaker's workshop became the birthplace of the first real Hallucine screens. Jean-Christophe, a master sailmaker, masters all the techniques of sewing and thermo-welding. Together, they developed a revolutionary screen: after projection, it falls into a large sail bag. No need to fold it up. It was a major innovation that would become the signature of the soufflerie range.
Hallucine, the benefit box
Hallucine becomes an event services company. The team tours the world to provide outdoor screenings for festivals, corporate events, weddings and sports broadcasts. It was this field experience, accumulated over hundreds of events in dozens of countries, that forged the company's philosophy: every product must be designed by those who use it, not by engineers who have never set up a screen at 3am.
"Our competitors have never had to fold up a screen at 3am to go to bed. We do. That's why everything we make is lighter, faster, simpler."
The secret of airbags - Lyon
In Lyon, the former capital of fabric, an investigation begins. Car airbags use an incredibly light and strong fabric - capable of withstanding an airbag explosion without tearing. When car manufacturers say it's "secret defense", the founder is undeterred. He finally found the answer in a factory in Lyon: a high-tenacity polyamide manufactured by DuPont de Nemours. The same fabric for all manufacturers. This fabric would become the heart of the wind tunnel range.
Exile in Tunisia
The Breton sailmaker experienced economic difficulties and decided to move to Tunisia to reduce production costs. Loyal to his partners and to the relationship of trust built up over the last 10 years, the founder follows in their footsteps. Manufacturing continues under the Tunisian sun, with the same high standards of quality.
China - Responding to the market
Customers ask for cheaper screens for occasional use. We headed to China to manufacture economical 5 to 6-meter screens with a heavier coated fabric. This is not Hallucine's usual quality, but it's the law of the market. Trips to China become regular - every 15 days - and enable us to forge lasting links with local manufacturers.
Blocked in China - Le COVID
Last trip to China, February 2020. COVID strikes. Impossible to return to France. Rather than put up with the situation, he enrolled at Shenzhen University to learn Chinese. The city, close to Hong Kong - where it all began 25 years earlier - offers a new perspective. What was supposed to be a setback became an opportunity.
"I have to admit that I'm a bit lazy and haven't learned much Chinese. But I was taken by the charm of this incredible city."
Shenzhen - The adventure continues
Based in China, the founder works on a daily basis with a partner factory in Dongguan - you could say they've become friends. The event services side of the business has been sold off to refocus on what matters: the design, manufacture and sale of screens, tents and inflatable furniture. The spirit has remained the same for 30 years: products designed by the people who use them. The aim is clear: to bring Hallucine to the widest possible audience.
An atypical career
Hallucine's founder is not an engineer, designer or businessman by training. He's a film and outdoor enthusiast who learned on the job - literally. From the beaches of Hong Kong to the sailmakers of Brittany, from the factories of Lyon to the workshops of Shenzhen, each stage of his career has forged a unique know-how.
His strength: insatiable curiosity and a stubborn refusal to accept the status quo. When screen manufacturers were using heavy, rigid PVC sheeting, he looked elsewhere. When carmakers told him that airbag fabric was "secret defense", he kept looking. When COVID blocked him in China, he enrolled at university.
Now based in Shenzhen, he continues to develop Hallucine with the same energy as on day one. His goal: to provide every event organizer in the world with access to a lightweight, reliable and affordable inflatable cinema screen.
In brief
Our values
Three principles that have guided every decision, every product, every interaction for 30 years.
Lightweight
Every gram counts. We've folded screens at 3am, carried equipment to beaches, erected structures in the rain. We know what "too heavy" means. That's why we've spent years researching the world's lightest and strongest fabrics - from kitesurfing to car airbags.
Reliability
Our screens are guaranteed for 10 years. Not 2, not 5 - ten. Because when you're in the field, on the eve of an event for 5,000 people, there's no room for error. Every seam, every valve, every strap is tested and retested. Our products are built to last.
Innovation
From kitesurfing to car airbags, from Breton sailmakers to Chinese factories, we look for inspiration everywhere. The best solution is never the most obvious. It's by looking elsewhere - to other industries, other countries, other cultures - that we find the ideas that make the difference.
Would you like to write the sequel with us?
Whether you're an event organizer, equipment rental company or just curious, we'd love to talk to you.
Contact us