Submarine Channel

What if behind Mona Lisa’s peaceful and soothing smile there’s a hidden diva drama? What if the force of inertia locking museum guards to their chairs was actually the weight of a secret mission? Let virtual reality take you into the parallel world of the world’s most famous muses – a world you could never have never guessed existed…

MONA is a virtual reality series of 8 episodes (8-10 minutes each) uncovering the hidden world of the Chambers. This parallel dimension welcomes painting models to rest and chat after the museums close and they leave their frames. All of this happens under the scrutiny of museum curators and guards, who are all in the know. However, the situation is not as idyllic as a Botticelli Venus after a swim…

When our story starts, the Models have just received the ten year change announcement from the curators: the human political anti-elite and anti-­cultural crisis is so bad now that for the very first time ever, drastic cuts are demanded to be done in the Chambers. This will force some of the major stars to lose their precious privileges. The events that ensue show that messing with an outraged Mona Lisa has dire consequences!

That’s all we can share about the secret mission of curators and museum guards, for now. But we are allowed to tell you who is in charge of MONA. The Netherlands, represented by Submarine Channel, and France, through Mélange and ATLAS V, join forces to co-produce and develop this project.

The director and author of this project is Michel Reilhac, a VR director and an expert on interactive formats, who forms the link between Submarine Channel and Mélange. Mélange is the main production vehicle for Michel’s projects and he is also the new Head of Submarine Channel, since January 2017. ATLAS V is a Paris based production house with a recognized expertise in VR.

Through VR, the viewer will be immersed in the secret world of the Chambers. MONA will be shot in full VR 360° images with digital overlay.

Mona is one of four projects that is selected (out of 35 submission) for the Cinemart/VR Days pitch program of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (25 January – 4 February, 2017).