A charming Meta Quest short film

Nothing says romance and happiness like a love story in French –with English subtitles, bien sur! The follow-your-heart, inspirational vibe of the plot is a perfect match for the stunning Parisian views and upbeat music of Vanilla Lily.

Do you want to travel to Paris without leaving your home? Just get an Oculus and watch the short film Vanilla Lily in the immersive VR format. Directed by Keeley Turner, with the uber-talented Hugh Hou as Director of Photography, it’s a simple yet charming love and self-discovery story.

Joëlle Zilberman plays Lily, a lively Louvre employee who dreams of painting all day long. She meets Clément (Milan Ogier) a financier who “speaks the language of numbers” and is also a pianist in his spare time. With three words (“Well, pain then!”) Clément changes Lily’s outlook on life.

The plot

The movie starts with a dreamlike scene of Lily dancing by the Louvre Pyramid. Suddenly her reveries get interrupted by a phone call (during her lunch break!) from her jaded and bossy manager asking her to put in some extra work.

Lily plops down on a bench and starts talking about the Rococo style. “It reminds me of the 80s’,” she remarks, and asks, with a throaty laugh, how times Rembrandt needed to paint Venus. When handsome Clément joins her on the bench, they strike up a conversation and soon he is inviting her to lunch.

Alors, and we are treated to a delightful promenade along the Seine. There is a shot that makes you feel as if you were actually sitting above the river!

Now we are at Brasserie Lipp. Please notice a charming detail—a cup of coffee set right in front of the viewer. Imagine you just finished sipping a cappuccino! As Lily and Clément talk, well known paintings like Las Meninas and Girl with a Pearl Earring pop up on the screen around the table. In the meantime, a man opens a door in a building next to the brasserie and people walk around… all real snippets of Parisian life.

After some prodding questions from Clément, Lily decides she’s had enough of a job that doesn’t fulfill her anymore. She will just quit and start painting! Maybe she would like to think about it, the cautious financier advises. But she has made up her mind, and that is that.

So they go out and celebrate…with ice cream. Another walk through the history-filled streets until we arrive to the glacier.

Lily chooses vanilla ice cream.

When Clément says with a teasing smile that people who like vanilla are considered “bland and not fond of taking risks,” Lily, annoyed, walks away under the rain. He follows her and they embrace. He kisses her on the cheek. “Vanilla ice cream on the cheek of an angel… it’s exquisite and very brave,” he says.

And then comes the beautiful finale as drops of rain fall on the grass and gleam on Lily’s eyelashes under the Eiffel Tower’s watch.

C’est vraiment un film charmant!

Credits:

Director and Screenwriter – Keeley Turner

Co-writer – Sheila Traister

Script Translator – Sébastien Hameline

Director of Photography – Hugh Hou

Production Services by – Metaverse Stage, INC.

Cast Lily – Joëlle Zilberman

Clément – Milan Ogier

Museum Manager – Estelle Courret

Watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drt6arAiA8c

If you own Meta Quest 2 or Pro, watch directly on Meta Quest TV: http://bit.ly/3X9Lwy6

This is the first of a series of post about my adventures in the Metaverse. I don’t think I will be playing Beat Saber anything soon, but there’s so much more out there.