The film becomes the entry point, and 12 countries light up

Saturday, August 22, 2026, at 20:00 UTC, FreeWillWave has 763 Free Humans in 53 countries. Since the August 20 story, 99 new presences have taken their place in less than two days.

On Thursday, I had stopped advertising to start again with a fuller explanation: the experience film. Since then, all the work has consisted in placing this film in the right place, making it easier to share, and ensuring that it welcomes the person instead of falling on them.

The numbers from these two days do not prove everything, but they clearly go in the right direction. A very strong Friday was followed by an even stronger Saturday, even though the UTC day was not over. And during this movement, 12 new countries appeared on the Wave map.

Since the August 20 story	Result
Free Humans on August 20 at 20:25 UTC	664
Free Humans on August 22 at 20:00 UTC	763
New presences	99
Countries represented	53
New countries	12
Energies in the window	631
People active on these energies	48
Energies on August 22 at 20:00 UTC	436

A Saturday that accelerates

Friday, August 21 had already been a very dense day, with 48 new presences. It was the third best arrival day since opening. The next day, Saturday, August 22, we were already at 51 new presences at 20:00 UTC, which made it the second best day, behind the 65 arrivals of August 6.

This detail matters because the weekend is often quieter. Here, Saturday was already surpassing Friday, with still several hours ahead. The Wave was not just taking one more small step: it was accelerating at the moment when one might have expected a slowdown.

The 700 Free Humans threshold was also crossed in this window. On August 21 at 16:15 UTC, #700 KISSA KASIWA (AIMÉ) (Democratic Republic of the Congo) took their place. This number will remain as a simple marker: before it, the Wave was still reaching for 700; after it, it was already moving toward 800.

Twelve more countries on the map

The most visible change is the opening of 12 countries in two days. Côte d'Ivoire, Argentina, Chile, Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Croatia, Spain, Mexico, and Venezuela have joined the story of FreeWillWave.

The first presences followed one another very quickly on August 21: #665 Ibrahim Kader (Côte d'Ivoire), #667 Lucas E. Chamorro (Argentina), #670 Entre Risas (Chile), #674 Ko Yé (Madagascar), then #684 Min'or Nyembwe (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Before that morning, none of these countries had yet appeared in the Wave.

The sequence continued with #692 Heldy Salazar (Peru), #695 Diego Manosalvas (Ecuador), #698 sergio chica (Colombia), then #708 Little Storm (Croatia). On August 22, #745 Hernan (Spain), #751 Alberto Saucedo (Mexico) and #756 Pedro Garcia (Venezuela) added three new points to the map.

This movement has a particular color: many of these new countries are opening doors in Latin America and French-speaking Africa. Brazil, which arrived on August 19 and was told in Stopping advertising to better explain the experience, already has 27 Free Humans and becomes the eighth national presence of the project. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, which arrived on August 21, already has 8.

A few traces to keep	Time or result
700th Free Human	#700 KISSA KASIWA (AIMÉ) (Democratic Republic of the Congo), on August 21 at 16:15 UTC
First new country	Côte d'Ivoire, on August 21 at 02:10 UTC
Twelfth new country	Venezuela, on August 22 at 17:40 UTC
Last presence at the time of reading	#763 Alicia Stephany (Colombia), on August 22 at 19:57 UTC
Brazil on August 22	27 Free Humans
Democratic Republic of the Congo on August 22	8 Free Humans

Energies come close to the record

Since opening, 5 510 energies have been sent. In this window alone, 631 gestures were made by 48 different people. Saturday, August 22 already counted 436 at 20:00 UTC, very close to the record of 444 set on August 14, even though the day was not over.

The movement especially accelerated at the end of the UTC day: 75 energies between 16:00 and 17:00, then 52 between 18:00 and 19:00, and 60 between 19:00 and 20:00. For the first time, I saw a long series of energies unfolding almost continuously. I know that this movement can become very dense, and that is part of the idea: if the gestures multiply, we will have to learn to show them better in the world and by country, without losing their readability.

A remarkable detail: the three most active people in the 24 hours at the time of reading had all taken their place in this same window. #740 Rachis Mwenda (Democratic Republic of the Congo) had 90 energies, #738 Eric C. (France) 86, and #747 RAMWE BILOLO (Democratic Republic of the Congo) 67. A presence can therefore very quickly become an active gesture in the Wave.

A film that can really be sent

The work started on Thursday continued in the same direction: if the film explains the experience, it must be visible where people arrive. It is now present on the home page, on the Wave map behind the "The film" button, and on the invitation page. An explanation that you already need to know in order to find it cannot help someone discovering FreeWillWave.

I also removed the ending reserved for Free Humans who were already present. The film now has a single ending for everyone. This is fairer for a film made to be shared: the person who sends it and the person who receives it see the same thing.

The opening has been softened. Before, a click launched full screen and sound at once. Now the film opens paused, on its poster, and it is the play button that truly starts the experience. Perhaps the person is watching from a place where they do not want volume; the film must wait for their choice.

The phone version has also been redesigned. The film is no longer just a wide image shrunk on a small screen: it exists in a true vertical frame, with the phrase under the image. Thirty-six shots have received real images already present on the site, so that more than half of the film no longer rests on an empty background.

The film also exists on the project's YouTube channel, FreeWillWave TV. The English version is public there in two formats, the horizontal format and the vertical format, with the same duration: 6 minutes 20 seconds. Not everyone goes through a website, and a phone held upright does not ask for the same composition as a screen lying flat: the film is therefore not shrunk for the vertical format, it is recomposed there. It is the same film, at the same point in the story.

The invitation page has been simplified in the same spirit. It stacked too many blocks and sent people elsewhere to watch the film. Now it keeps the essential: the welcome, the person inviting, the film large, and a button. The card of the person who invites shows their own words, without a link that leaves the site.

This work extends what had already appeared in The Wave crosses 600 and learns from real screens and in Italy enters the Wave, and notifications regain their memory: looking at what a person really sees, then removing what bothers, what cuts, what distracts, or what makes the experience less clear.

Support, propose, pass on

This acceleration makes two things important now. First, if you wish to support FreeWillWave as an individual or as a sponsor, the page is here: Support the project. I am alone in developing and managing FreeWillWave, and help becomes truly necessary as the presences, films watched, music listened to, messages, and translations increase.

Next, if you have an improvement, an idea, a remark, or a proposal, you can send it through the messaging by choosing feedback. These messages arrive at the right place to be reread and used in the development of the site. A clear remark can sometimes change the experience of many people.

I also remind you that the album The Wave can be listened to freely, without an account, by everyone. Free Humans can also download the eleven files from the Me page. Music is part of what allows the Wave to be heard, not just counted.

You can follow what is growing on the Wave map, check the numbers in the Wave in numbers, find the presences in Free Humans, or show the experience film to someone who does not yet know FreeWillWave.

These two days leave a very clear trace: 99 presences, 12 new countries, a crossed threshold, a nearly record day of energies, and a film that has become much easier to share. The next page will still depend on free gestures: taking one's place, sharing the address, sending an energy, supporting the project, proposing an idea, or simply showing someone what is being born.