Paris workshop delivers ultra-realistic film prop babies
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An employee cleans fake babies made for cinema and television created by Cinebebe (Cinebaby).
PHOTO: AFP
PARIS – In a workshop outside Paris, Ms Celine Lallement stitched hairs into a silicone baby’s skull – the latest creation from a studio specialising in making ultra-realistic infants for the film and TV industries.
Founded in 2008 and based in a north Paris suburb, Cinebebe produces props that can take more than six weeks of crafting before they are sent to production sets.
“It’s mohair, it comes from the Angora goat. It’s finer than adult hair, so it imitates baby hair very well,” Ms Lallement explained, as she carefully inserted each strand.
At one point, she spotted a problem.
“There are two hairs in the same follicle, that won’t work,” she said, before using tweezers to correct the mistake.
Her latest work is set to be used in a film shoot in England, according to Ms Justine Ray Le Solliec, who co-manages the special effects workshop.
With slightly red cheeks, tiny veins under the eyelids, skin folds and pores, it is hard to tell the difference from a real child.
“You can expect to pay around €700 (S$978) to rent a baby for a day’s shoot and between €9,000 and €15,000 to buy one, depending on the time required to make it,” said Ms Ray Le Solliec.
From 26-week premature infants to 18-month-old toddlers, Cinebebe’s miniature mannequins are used in around 100 productions every year, mostly in France and Europe.
Their work has been glimpsed in hit Netflix romantic comedy series Emily In Paris (2020 to present), as well as the French period blockbuster movie The Count Of Monte Cristo (2024).
The company uses silicone castings for babies, but also creates pregnant bellies, breasts, placentas, foetuses, umbilical cords and even life-size pelvis models that are used for birth scenes.
“In France, regulations prohibit newborns under three months old from participating in film shoots,” Ms Ray Le Solliec said.
“For infants aged three months to three years, filming time is limited to one hour a day, which can be challenging when multiple scenes involve children.”
Ms Justine Ray Le Solliec, co-owner and commercial director of Cinebebe and Studio Junon, holding fake babies made for cinema and television.
PHOTO: AFP
Beyond regulations, their business has accelerated since the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.
“It helped us because babies were not allowed on set during that period,” Ms Ray Le Solliec added.
Post-pandemic, the company’s revenue has doubled every year, though there was a “slight slowdown” in 2024 compared with 2023, with a growth rate of 35 per cent.
The next step is expanding internationally, with a London office planned in 2025.
The production goal is to develop babies with open eyes, as well as larger babies for stunt scenes. AFP
