About Moonra
INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY
It's Saturday morning. I've woken up with the glorious realisation that there's no school. Name a better feeling. I bet you can't.
It's raining outside, which means a day under the blankets with my favourite television show. M*A*S*H. Perhaps not the typical choice for someone my age, but I loved everything about it. The setting, the characters, the stories.
I'm 12.
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
I should be studying. I've spent the entire day procrastinating, written an essay question at the top of a page and attempted to teach myself the entire organic chemistry curriculum in two nights. I'm beginning to wish I'd paid more attention in class.
Apparently my entire future depends on these exams. Or so I've been led to believe.
Just one episode of M*A*S*H to calm me down. Then I'll study.
The stress dissipates.
I'm 17.
INT. UNIVERSITY HALL - NIGHT
My ears are ringing from the music downstairs. I can't remember anyone's name, and university is beginning to feel like school camp, only with more alcohol and less supervision.
I've moved to another city, and it turns out homesickness doesn't disappear just because you're supposedly an adult.
I climb into bed, pull the covers over me and reach for the one season of M*A*S*H I brought with me on DVD.
The familiar faces appear. The comfort returns.
I'm 19.
INT. OFFICE - DAY
So this is adulthood?
Sitting in an office in silence until I'm permitted a strictly timed 45-minute lunch break. Don't return two minutes late. Someone will notice. Then back to the desk to pretend to work until I'm allowed to go home.
Forever. And ever. And ever.
I get home feeling rather numb and turn to something guaranteed to bring me happiness.
M*A*S*H.
I'm 24.
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
Everyone told me London was cold and miserable. Yet here I am, lying on a sofa in 30-degree heat, wondering whether the air itself is trying to suffocate me.
I've moved to the other side of the world, and everything is unfamiliar. The people, the supermarkets, the sky. Even this sofa.
I'm alone. I'm homesick. I want something familiar.
I want M*A*S*H.
But I've moved here with one suitcase. My DVDs are sitting on a shelf at my parents' house in New Zealand.
Netflix? Nothing.
Amazon? Nothing.
I search every streaming service I can think of, even signing up for free trials in the hope of finding it.
Nothing.
And that's when I wonder: Why can't I just buy a digital copy of a television programme I love and keep it with me wherever I go?
I'm 30.
And that's where Moonra begins.
A couple of years have passed since that evening, but the question has stayed with me.
Streaming has brought an extraordinary amount of film and television into our lives. But access is fleeting. We've become accustomed to seeing the words Leaving Soon beside stories we love.
I believe some stories are worth keeping.
The films and television programmes we return to throughout our lives deserve more than temporary access. We should be able to purchase them, revisit them and discover something different each time.
That's why I founded Moonra.
I wanted to create a place where people could truly own the films and television they love, with meaningful protections for their purchases rather than relying entirely on the continued availability of a streaming licence.
I've spent much of my life working in storytelling. I studied law before working in television script departments, writing, producing and developing projects in New Zealand and the UK. I've seen firsthand the extraordinary amount of work and love that goes into creating stories.
And I believe that work deserves to be enjoyed again and again.
Digital ownership is complicated, and building Moonra has been an ongoing education. But it's one I'm determined to see through.
And I'd love your help.
What films and television programmes would you love to own? What stories have stayed with you throughout your life?
Tell me. Help shape the collection we're building.
After all, if M*A*S*H pops out for a loaf of bread, I'd quite like to know it's coming back.
And I hope you'll come along for the journey.
Because digital ownership is just the beginning.
Lisa x