Reawaken the forgotten history.
We're in Montgomery, Alabama, in the heart of the segregated southern United States, on the 2:30 PM bus, March 2, 1955. Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old Black teenager, refuses to give up her seat to a White passenger. Despite threats, she remains seated. After being thrown in jail, she decides to sue the city and plead not guilty. No one ever dared to do such a thing at the time. And yet, no one remembers her name.
Colored: The Unsung Life of Claudette Colvin is an immersive experience adapted from a biographical essay, written by Tania de Montaigne, that traces the story of Claudette Colvin and her journey from struggle to abandonment.
When, 9 months later, Rosa Parks repeated the same act, everything changed. With the support of a young pastor who had recently arrived in Montgomery, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks became a hero, the spark that launched the civil rights movement. History was in the making. Claudette Colvin made it all possible, but she is the one who has been forgotten. She still lives in the United States today, and is 83 years old.
Colored allows the audience to enter a setting that will soon be haunted by the ghosts of 1950s Alabama. Thanks to augmented reality, which like no other technology allows our present to meet the past, Claudette's story can become our story, entering our memories as a 'lived' moment in our own experience where we can each become witnesses to this heroic act.
In a set specially designed for the experience, iconic scenes from Claudette Colvin's life during her fight for civil rights are replayed before your very eyes. Whether you're alone or accompanied, you'll be able to join your peers in a collective headset experience.
"Colored, the Unsung Life of Claudette Colvin" directed by Stéphane Foenkinos and Pierre-Alain Giraud, based on the work by Tania de Montaigne, produced by Novaya in partnership with the Centre Pompidou, co-produced with Flash Forward Entertainment (Taiwan).
Winner of the Award for Best Immersive Work of the 77th Festival de Cannes.
With the support of
CNC, National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image
The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region
TAICCA Immersive Content Grant International Co-funding or Co-Productions
The French Institute
FACE FOUNDATION as part of the "French Immersion" program
BPI France
104factory
104 Paris
4DViews
4J
L-Isa
IPLlab (Taiwan)
ROSCO
IRCAM
PIXII
Credits
Core Team
Pierre-Alain Giraud
Producer & Director
Stéphane Foenkinos
Director
Tania De Montaigne
Writer
Emanuela Righi
Producer
Patrick Mao Huang
Co-Producer
Christa Chen
Taïwan Production Director
Mathieu Denuit
Technical Director
Pierre-Luc Denuit
Systems Engineer
Valgeir Sigurðsson
Original Music & Sound Design
Nicolas Becker
Sound Designer
Philippe Berthomé
Lighting Designer
Laurence Fontaine
Set Designer
Chia Hui Wang
Costume Designer
Louis Moreau
3D Artist
Opening times:
Open daily with hourly timeslots. Various opening times. Closed Fri 18 October.
Running time: 40 minutes. Please arrive 5 minutes before your slot for onboarding. Latecomers will not be admitted.
Age restriction: 13+
Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over.
Access: This is a standing walkabout 40-minute experience which can be adapted for people with reduced mobility. Please contact us before purchasing your ticket(s) so that we can accommodate you.
Warnings: Themes of racism and violence; references to rape; strong and overtly racist language; may include flashing images.
Language: The experience is presented in both French and English. You will choose your preferred language before starting the experience.
Under 26s, Seniors, Students and Disabled
£4 off
All offers subject to allocation and availability.
What is an Augmented Reality experience?
Augmented Reality (AR) combines the real world with digital content, creating a multi-sensory immersive experience. For this experience, you will wear a Hololens 2 augmented reality headset (weighing 566g) and Bose headphones.
Colored is an augmented reality experience that transports you to the United States, to Montgomery in Alabama on March 2, 1955. In a setting specially designed for the experience, the emblematic scenes from the life of Claudette Colvin are replayed before you during her fight for civil rights. Whether you are alone or accompanied, you'll be able to join your peers in a collective experience.
Do I need to book?
Yes, this is a paid immersive experience with limited capacity, so book in advance to avoid disappointment on the day.
If you are a school or college and would like to discuss booking a bespoke time slot, please get in touch with digital.productions@wmc.org.uk.
Can I wear my glasses?
Spectacles may be worn under the headset however it may be more comfortable to wear contact lenses or go without your glasses for the experience.
The maximum size of glasses that can be worn with the headset is 142mm in length and 50mm in height.
What are the Health and Safety measures?
Most people do not experience any negative reactions to Augmented Reality. However, AR may be disorientating for individuals who are neurodiverse, have hearing or sight impairments, or experience vertigo, epilepsy, dizziness, seizures, motion sickness or fainting.
Trained facilitators will be on hand to provide support and guidance throughout the experience should you require it.
We thoroughly clean and sanitise all equipment, including headsets, with hospital-grade antibacterial wipes before each use.
Under 16s must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. This experience is not recommended for under 13s as the headset will not fit them correctly.
Babies in slings are not permitted inside the experience.
Any guests arriving for the experience who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs will not be permitted to take part.