Night. Street. A man. And a manhole. Lutz goes inside, and we enter a subconscious world of memories where he sinks deeper and deeper to confront one of his memories – a memory of Heidi.
Inside the manhole, Lutz finds himself in a cruise ship, a vessel that runs along these canals of thoughts where he encounters his memories.
From the perspective of the main character, the film follows one person’s journey through his subconscious in the search for a particular memory. When Lutz goes inside the manhole, he finds himself in the cruise ship cabin where he encounters two characters who represent qualities of Heidi seen through his perspective: Pearl – a cruise ship tap dancer representing some aspects of Heidi – and Al – an old woman who represents Heidi’s other qualities.
The climax of the film begins when Lutz enters the manhole for the third time. He follows red string to the Jazz bar where he finally finds Heidi with her face tangled in string, the string that has led Lutz to her; she is where his journey through memories has led him.
When he finally finds her – this memory – questions may arise: Is that how she really looked? Was the relationship between them how he sees it now? Is she even real?
What he finds is not real, but he sinks so deep into his memories that he finally finds what he was looking for and is happy again; however, is living in our twisted memories what we should look for?
The film’s core theme is memory.
By the end of this film, it is hoped that the audience will gain an insight into the ways in which we each interact with difficult memories, and what we can gain from confronting such memories and ultimately, accepting them.
The film takes place in a cruise ship that floats through sewers, which is a symbolic way of showing that everyone has internal canals where their memories and deviances roam freely.
In the last shot of the film, the audience sees several manhole covers, each with their own unique sounds representing the memories of different people and the safe place where each of their thoughts run freely.
We have an incredible crew working hard to bring this film to life. Every film starts with an idea and then takes months of work through countless drafts of the script to many different meetings running up to the shoot and then finally the edit. Our team is very dedicated and excited to get this film to the big screen.
Katrina Ryshuk: Director
"Hi, 
I’m Katrina Ryshuk and I’m the Director of Juniper. I started work on this project as the Producer and ended up as the Director. This unexpected opportunity should allow me to explore a theme I’ve always been interested in: how to symbolically show how the human psyche – in this case memory – works. I’ve always been amazed by how art can change people’s perspective on things, and I believe this project touches on the very universal aspect of what we as human beings all share and can relate to. Therefore, I believe this film will make the audience reflect on their memories and how they relate with – and in the process learn something new about – them."
Bethanie Holland-Ball: Producer
“I’m Bethanie Holland-Ball and I am the Producer for Juniper. A film producer oversees the film production and looks after all cast and crew. I have the important of job of completing a lot of pre-production paperwork, including everything from the budget to the risk assessments. I am extremely excited about this film and can’t wait to get started.“
Viktor Todorov: 1st Assistant Director
"Hi, I’m Viktor Todorov and I am the 1st AD for Juniper. As 1st Assistant director I have to make a shooting schedule taking into account all the circumstances of the shooting process. From the first time I read about the film, I was intrigued by its interesting idea. I am very happy to work on the film Juniper, because of its great potential. “
Arthur Attenborough: Cinematographer
"I've always been interested in memories of people and how we perceive them, and this is what drew me to Juniper as an idea, and since becoming involved I hope to use the visual poetry of light and shadow to convey these ways of remembering as well as support the creation of the internal world in which the film is set."
Hayley Rofkind: Editor
"Hi, I’m Hayley and I’m the Editor of this film. I’m an American artist, born and raised in Hong Kong. I have always been interested in editing and have been in the practice for a few years. Memories have always been an interest for me as well, learning and rediscovering memories would be an amazing experience. As the editor I will be working on the post side of the film, creating the final piece together. I look forward to working alongside this team and creating this captivating story together."
Dylan B. Monk: Production Designer
"Hi, I’m Dylan B. Monk, the Production Designer for the surreal film, Juniper. I have the pleasure of bringing the beautifully crafted atmosphere to life through a series of intricate set overlays and cheeky camera trickery. Joining this production, I’ve been ecstatic to deal with its core principles of romanticising memories and how this can be detrimental to the integrity of that said memory. Being able to manifest this fantastical element into something visually engaging has been and continues to be an incredibly rewarding experience."
Mimi Bush: Costume Designer
“I’m Mimi Bush and I am the costume designer. I specialise in contemporary styling and costume design. The costumes are extremely important as they help with the overall visual aesthetic of the piece and allow the actors to truly embody the characters they are portraying. As a designer, I help to create the story by looking into the each character and use costume to create a clearer image. I can’t wait to see this unique film come together and work with a great team.
Eleanor Passelle: Make Up Artist
“Hi, I’m Eleanor Passelle, the head Make-up and Hair artist for Juniper. I specialise in special effects make-up artistry and it’s my job to help bring the characters within the film to life.
Juniper is a beautifully dreamlike story which I am so excited to be a-part of. The journey from design to the final realisation of the character design is a long one and I’m looking forward to working with such a wonderful team to create this film.”
The film is set in the subconscious world of the main character. Where everything we see is his interpretation of some of his memories. Therefore, the setting will be unpredictable and changing to present the nature of human memories.
Here are some character designs for the main characters of the film Lutz and Heidi designed by our director.
We have carefully planned out how we are gonna make this film while making sure that all the money will be used in the most effective way. By doing this we can sure that every penny of our donation will be spread across the different departments. Each donation could go towards materials to build the set or to pay a member of the cast for a day.
Thankyou so much for having a look at our Crowdfunder! We are so excited to make this film and want to bring you along on the journey with us. If you can donate, please do it will bring us one step closer to sharing our collective vision. We know times are tough right now and if you can’t donate please follow and share our page on social media. Help us get the word out! Thankyou again and we will see you at the premier! – Juniper Crew
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