Ulrica (2025)

Project Synopsis:

Ulrica is an audiovisual installation centered on a film shot entirely underwater in the cenotes of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula—sacred sites integral to Mayan ritual life and enduring sources of water for centuries of settlement—as well as in Chuuk Lagoon, Micronesia, the historic theater of "Operation Hailstone," where hundreds of Japanese warships, aircraft, and submarines were attacked and sunk.

It tells the story of a French submariner who, after his vessel is attacked during World War II, plunges into the Atlantic depths to escape the haunting sounds of a feared enemy vessel known as Ulrica. Hiding among underwater caves and wreckage, he experiences a surreal merging of time and identity.

In the installation, the film’s soundtrack is performed live with piano, multi-percussion, live electronics, and a narrator. The setting incorporates three LED lights, octophonic sound (eight speakers surrounding the audience), and hydrophones (underwater microphones) capturing realtime sounds from a live fish tank. Specially crafted instruments, such as a miniature boat with steel sails played with a percussion bow, add further interative sonic texture.

This immersive production and sound design aim to recreate the soundscape divers hear beneath the surface, while evoking an introspective emotional journey—one that reflects the trauma and ecological sabotage wrought by war on both the human psyche and the natural world. Amidst this devastation, however, the enduring wonder of nature remains.

Stills from Ulrica

The installation received the Alan D. Marks Center Project Grant and Dean's Opportunity Fund at UCLA, as well as technical support from the Juilliard Center for Creative Technology, and was premiered at Bruno Walter Orchestral Studio, The Juilliard School, on May 4th, 2025.

Live Crew

Piano: Hongbo Cai

Multi-Percussion: Bolditzár Kovács

Live Electronics: Ziyi Tao

Narrator: John Blake

Stage Manager: Max Salzman

Film Production Crew:

Cast: Francisco Gil

Sound Design: Carol Yan Li

Special Effect: Weiying Jin

Color Grading: Juliette Ho

Dive Shop Coordination: Xtreme Dive Centers, Playa del Carmen, Q.R.

Diving Logistics: Elsa Huang

Cinematography & Production Design: Hongbo Cai

Assistant Underwater Photography: Zicong Wang & Laurence Huo

Written, Produced, & Directed by Hongbo Cai

The project gratefully acknowledges the following private and public dive sites for allowing sampling of audio and visual footage (in alphabetical order):

Aikoku Maru, Cenote Angelita, Cenote Carwash, Cenote Dreamgate, Cenote Maravilla, Cenote Zapote, C-53 Shipwreck, El Pit, Fujikawa Maru, I-196 Submarine, Manchones Junior, MUSA (Underwater Museum of Art), Nippo Maru, San Francisco Maru, Shinkoku Maru, Yamagiri Maru, Yucab