COVER

HAPPY MOON PRODUCTIONS - as PROD

Drama - Pre-Production 2024

Iconic Model Justine needs the flashy cameras to feel alive. Without the eye of the camera she is nothing; Justine struggles for her existence, gradually losing her mind in a downward spiral of illusion, self-denial, loss of identity – and murder.

    • Year of production
    • 2024
    • Genres
    • Drama, Thriller
    • Countries
    • BELGIUM, GERMANY
    • Languages
    • ENGLISH
    • Budget
    • 5 - 10 M$
    • Duration
    • 100 mn
    • Writer(s)
    • Kerstin HAUKE, Katharina MIHM
    • Producer(s)
    • Jean-Luc VAN DAMME (HAPPY MOON PRODUCTIONS), Annegret WEITKÄMPER–KRUG (Gretchenfilm)
    • Synopsis
    • Iconic Model Justine needs the flashy cameras to feel alive. Without the eye of the camera she is nothing. Once, she was the favourite of the most famous designers and photographers. But, from one day to the next, at the height of her career, Justine stopped working with Lucide Amère, the most influential designer. Why? Both keep silent about it. As jobs decrease in numbers and importance and competition increases, Justine fears for her visibility. Not to be seen anymore, means not to exist anymore. Justine struggles for her existence, gradually losing her mind in a downward spiral of illusion, self-denial, loss of identity – and murder.

      Because at the same time, the glittering world of haute couture becomes the stage for a series of bizarre murders. A killer is hunting down models, whose corpses he exhibits in exposed public places, their throats slit and their bodies artfully bound and fettered. The killer’s trademark is the black tape over the eyes of the victims – a detail that has caused him to be dubbed the “Censor”. All the victims have something in common: their modelling careers are closely linked to Lucide Amère. As Lucide turns out to be the only one to bring Justine back to the flashlights, she eventually walks for Lucide’s highly anticipated show. Is Justine herself now on the Censor’s list? Moreover, she gets into the focus of inspector Leblanc’s investigations. He has taken on the case for reasons he initially doesn’t let on.

      With Justine, we break through the hyperreal, flawless façade of fashion and dive straight into the nightmares of human abysses. We meet people who only exist as abstract sketches of themselves. Like fashion: thousands of cuts and designs, with changing identities. Isolated and, at the same time, split up into many. The deeper we are drawn into the glamorous fashion world, the more it shows us the shocking horror behind the scenes: abuse and exploitation, and a conspiracy too big to stop anymore.

      In the end, Justine has to face her demons to leave her nightmare: Who am I? I am many. And: Could she kill a person herself to survive? Or does she herself first have to die to finally be born? A battle for her sense of self begins.
    • Partners & financing
    • Gretchenfilm Germany
      Nrw Region
      Belgian Tax Shelter
      Hamburg fund
      DFFF
    • Beginning of shooting
    • May 06, 2024
    • End of shooting
    • Jun 28, 2024