The Mermaid’s Effect

In a world divided into a spectacular city of film and ruins of salt lakes, mermaids and humans live together in an unequal relationship. The lives of forgotten sea beings are property of the film town where they have to go to work every day from their lake reserve. Luna, the mother of the little mermaid Oriana, also works in the studio of special film effects. Although she tries to keep her daughter as far away from the film studios as possible, one day an accident will happen.

Director’s statement
The film is situated between two worlds: the world of forgotten mermaids that live behind the city gates in lake slums – and the world of a shiny film town that has profaned mythology into mainstream, profitable fiction. It argues with the traditional narrative of Little Mermaid story. The Mermaid’s Effect is not a romantic love story in which the mermaid sacrifices her voice and immortality to be with her prince. It is a journey of finding a voice of the powerless old mythological creatures in the city where sexism, violence, money, and humiliation rule. A mutual love of Luna and her daughter Oriana as well as the support of the mermaid’s community make their resistance stronger and capable of action. The film will be made as a 3D animation, but the mermaid environment will be modeled as sculptures and then scanned so that the difference between old and fake is visible in the colors and materials. Instead of dialogues, music and sound design will play an important role in the film.