Submarine Channel

In January 2007, a man named Molotov Alva, disappeared from his Californian home. Shortly thereafter, a series of video dispatches by a traveler of the same name appeared within a popular online world called Second Life.

The Story

Filmmaker Douglas Gayeton (interview) came across these video dispatches and put them together into a documentary of ten episodes, shot entirely in Second Life. An instant YouTube classic, “My Second Life” as the show was originally called, was snapped up by HBO and received rave reviews in the US.

Molotov Alva and His Search for the Creator was screened at Cannes Short Film Corner, South by SouthWest, Web Flash Film Festival (Centre Pompidou, Paris), HotDocs, and more.

About Douglas Gayeton

Douglas Gayeton directed and wrote  Molotov Alva and His Search for the Creator: A Second Life Odyssey (2008). He is a director and writer also known for The Story of an Egg (2012) and Lost in Italy (2003).
Source: IMDb

About Minimovies

A Minimovie is an episodic documentary consisting of 8 to 10 episodes. Episodes are 7 to 10 minutes each. Put together, they form a self-contained story. With MiniMovies SubmarineChannel explores a new narrative and visual style of documentary filmmaking. You can watch the Minimovies here or simply download them to your digital device of choice.

Credits

This Minimovie series is a co-production with VPRO.