General Thematic Content of Projects 1 & 2:
Both projects involve a proof of concept short film -one of these will then be extended into a feature film.
Project 1:
The first film project is heavily influenced by the unsettling undercurrent of Peter Weir's "Picnic at Hanging Rock"(1975) and Ingmar Bergman's "Persona" (1966) - in the way it is very focused on the psychology/interior mindset of the lead actors. Yet, unlike "Persona", it also holds elements which are thematically supernatural in a very subtle way (although altogether, the film is mostly very grounded in a contemporary reality).
To briefly outline, - the story follows a strong, stoic-yet-emotionally rich, young, solo musician/sound artist. Classically, the protagonist abandons the city to go to the mountains/ocean to complete an album (she is an experimental artist ala Bjork, except not as playful as Bjork). This protagonist is part of the local sub-pop/underground music world. She is outwardly sombre and melancholic, as she is troubled by a past relationship as well as not being able to understand her recent creative block. On top of this, she also faces music career pressures and confusion from her record label.
After arriving at the secluded cove surrounded by forest, the protagonist bases herself within a quaint, stone cabin. She begins to take long walks through the forest and along the shoreline. On these walks, she records sounds and tries to write lyrics. She eventually stumbles across her antagonist, a woman close to her age who coerces the protagonist towards spending more and more time at a type of commune/coven with a small group of others nearby. The protagonist's loneliness allows her to be influenced by this group, yet towards the end, when this new crowd becomes overwhelming and she finds that she does not agree with aspects of the coven's conduct, she endeavours to break free from them. Despite the complications of her encounters with the coven, she has found that she has gathered enough material needed to complete her album- although, on return to the city, she is spooked to find that some of them have followed her. Because much of what happens on her trip mirrors her troubles in the city, the film leaves space for audiences to interpret whether the protagonist has imagined these characters/the coven or not.
Project 1: Concept Moodboard
Details go here
Project 1 Main Roles:
Mirra: (protagonist) woman, age 21-31
Mirra is beautiful, understated, stoic but curious, brave and strong. She is enigmatic in the way that her music/artist alter-ego is largely disconnected from how she lives day to day.
She increasingly feels detached from her current situation in the city. Although she has lost passion for her lifestyle attending clubs and parties and working a mundane day job to pay the rent, she is determined to find her way artistically again and to piece together work that makes sense to her again, especially after being offered an opportunity to tour internationally under the independant label she is signed to if she completes her album on time.
Beneath her immediate circumstances, she faces feelings of alienation, bruised confidence and trust after a bad relationship. Her time away from the city is aimed at healing herself and re-asserting herself just as much as it is about completing the work for the label.
Odelia : (antagonist) woman, age 21-31
Odelia is the adopted daughter of the commune/coven. She is the person who invites Mirra to start hanging out amoungst her and her family/sisters.
She too, is enigmatic like Mirra, in the way that she has multiple sides to her personality which oppose and conflict with each other. Whilst Mirra is closer to being balanced emotionally- Odelia is slightly more chaotic. Her creative outlets are based within her ritual practice and- whilst she is very charismatic, earthly and etherial all at once, she is also quite disturbed and is privy to behaving in a sociopathic ways.
Beneath her desire to influence the lives of others/act sociopathically (a trait learnt on the farm), the other side of her is extremely sensitive and wants to repair her damage instead. It is this side of her that, through bouts of guilt, tries to abandon the commune every so often, only to seemingly change her mind and return.
She is fairly unhinged at this point in her life. She is powerful, but unsure of where to direct her energy. She is often driving back and forth, trying to figure out where where she belongs. She occasionally likes to emulate the lives of others, which leads to destructive and deadly circumstances.
Project 2:
The second project is also psychological, yet, is more avant-garde/experimental and embedded with a few relatively surreal moments. In short form, it follows a successful (and very chic) young business woman as she reconnects with her childhood past upon hearing of her estranged mother's death.
Although the themes of this story are dark, the aim of this project is to create a brightly coloured, sensorial, cinematic experience which celebrates the nuances of the early moments/shock of mourning as well as the rebirth of her connection with her Mother. The lead character experiences profound balance after the experience of preparing for, flying to and attending the funeral services of her mother. This project requires scenes of memories and dreams of the lead woman which include visions of her mother when she was a young, wild, aspiring ballet dancer from a working class background, struggling to keep her dreams afloat whilst looking after an infant/small daughter. The story portrays the mother as ultimately triumphant in passing on her wisdom to her daughter, years after being separated from each other. This film has two main characters- the mother when she was young and the daughter as an adult and also as a child.
Project 2: Concept Moodboard
Project 2 Main Roles:
Julie: (protagonist) woman, age (mid twenties)
Julie is usually quite put together. She is financially successful and is doing well in her career. She is solidly confident, yet at times has felt something is missing.
Julie grew up with two Mothers as a child, yet these two parents split just before she became a teenager.
For most of her young-adult life, Julie has considered herself to be mostly like the mother who raised her since the divorce, "Videl". Videl, a fiercely protective, corporate woman, mentored and shaped Julie to be where she is now, successful and independent etc. Videl endeavoured to deliver the best upbringing and education for Julie, yet, Videl did not allow Julie to see her other mother, "Helen" much at all after the divorce.
When Julie hears news of Helen's death, an array of buried memories burst to the surface- leading her to rethink, appreciate and understand her estranged Mother- an aspiring dancer and unpredictable spirit.
Helen (young): woman, age: (twenties- early thirties)
Helen is the estranged Mother of Julie and the ex-wife of Videl.
Young Helen is vivacious, ambitious, happy and rebellious. She can be a little disorganised at times but when in good health, she is very much on fire, attracting all who encounter her. In good health, she is assertive but soft, caring, flirtatious and glowing. When in a struggling state, her sensitivity can work against her and her fire can burn bridges. Her sorrow pushes her to extremes. Her flaw is that she runs away when she feels her freedom is threatened, and, in the depths of depression, she fails to communicate to those who care for her.
She is either all-in or all-out.
Backstory:
Helen grew up on a farm to two new-age radicals of the 60s. She grew up dancing at small ceremonies and by the time she was a teen, she had serious ambitions of becoming a professional ballerina. This juxtaposed with her humble upbringing but she left her home town and went city to city auditioning to enter the best schools and companies. Although dedicated, her lust to party led her on many romantic escapades and eventually she became pregnant.
Helen met Videl whilst in a relationship with a man who disappeared before she was aware she was pregnant. Whilst hitch-hiking in between towns, Videl picked Helen up in her car, which led to them spending that summer together. The two formed a strong relationship and were completely in love by the time Julie was born. The two women raised Julie together, yet, just before Julie turned 14, the two women could not meet eye to eye on their differences anymore and were unable to reach compromises on their extreme, opposite personalities. Helen's growing infidelity became too much for Videl.
Helen was abandoned by Videl and returned back to her hometown where she fell into self-destruction as her dream of becoming a ballerina slipped further from reach. Her attempts to reconnect with Julie, who was in the custody of Videl were thwarted as she was deemed mentally unfit. Helen became a dancer at a highway road-side adult-club to make ends meet, yet was arrested for fighting a patron/cop who insulted her. Authorities made orders to send her into a notoriously ruthless rehab centre within the rural town, but she left the town before they were able to do so and was never seen or heard from again by Julie or Videl until she was reported dead almost a decade later.
Videl (young): woman, age: (twenties- early thirties)
Videl is the Mother/caretaker come business mentor of Julie and the ex-wife of Helen.
Backstory:
Videl is from an affluent family who is based in the city, yet also owns a winery in the country-side. Videl is the rebel of her old-fashioned and conservative family for being gay/ unwilling to marry a man. Videl, when happy, is vibrant like Helen, yet her humour is more understated, pragmatic and sarcastic in comparison. She is extremely strong-willed, generous and especially protective of Julie, yet, when her trust is broken, all the walls go up and her generous, loving, caring self is securely locked away. Videl's flaws are that she is stubborn, unforgiving and holds the capacity to unleash severe cruelty onto those who hurt her. She chooses pain over forgiveness and when Helen was found fooling around and meddling with drugs which she had promised Videl she would never take again, Helen was locked out of Videl's life.
Videl was let down by her own siblings, mother and father in the past, which traumatised her deeply. From that point onward, she became very strict with boundaries plus careful and cut-throat when rebuilding her own, new family.
Videl will always love Helen, yet vows to never forgive or allow space for her. Videl's anger is scary, though her love is big. She is extremely caring towards Julie, yet believes in discipline being key to freedom and ultimately independence. She acts as a strict teacher to Julie.