Director - Hannah Hamza
Writer - Hannah Hamza
Producer - Michelle Yancey, Alisha Hawkins
Director of Photography - Frank Sun
Editing/Colorist - German Tabor
Animation - Mack Garrison
Composition - Alex Davis
Writer - Hannah Hamza
Producer - Michelle Yancey, Alisha Hawkins
Director of Photography - Frank Sun
Editing/Colorist - German Tabor
Animation - Mack Garrison
Composition - Alex Davis
"The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: artists, inventors, storytellers-creative and holistic 'right-brain' thinkers.”
- Daniel Pink
After losing my mom to cancer in 2007, writing became very cathartic for me. I always wondered what it would have been like if my mom passed away when I was a child. This exploration was the catalyst for writing “Junebug.” The film is a thought-provoking and endearing portrayal of Juniper Rose as she grieves the loss of her mother the only way she knows how - becoming a mute. Over the course of a summer, living with her eccentric Great Aunt Mabel, Juniper experiences an emotional breakthrough that forever changes the way she views the world.
After finishing this script, I submitted the screenplay to the AFI Women in Film Directing Workshop with the hopes of seeing my vision on the big screen. However, there is nothing like a failure to propel you toward your next success. Despite a rejection letter, I was determined to make “Junebug” one way or another. Sometimes you have to break away from the day-to-day of your job and dive into a passion project head first. For me, this was partnering with two incredible producers who believed in me and my story. With the trifecta assembled, we went for it!
Now how were we going to find our crew, the perfect nine year old to play Junebug, raise the money for the film, and find locations with Southern charm - for free? The task seemed daunting, but our first step was kicking off an indiegogo campaign to get the word out! And then everything else fell into place.
We filmed Junebug in an perfect little southern town called Fuquay Varina nestled 45 minutes outside of Raleigh, North Carolina. Our budget was small, and our timeline was short, but according to the local papers Hollywood had come to town! The community was elated and provided us with free locations, food and resources. I was completely blown away by the outpouring of support for this little film. It was a labor of love by the entire team especially during the hot August shoot days. I was blessed to have friends working on the film who were dedicated to helping me bring this special story to life.
We filmed Junebug in an perfect little southern town called Fuquay Varina nestled 45 minutes outside of Raleigh, North Carolina. Our budget was small, and our timeline was short, but according to the local papers Hollywood had come to town! The community was elated and provided us with free locations, food and resources. I was completely blown away by the outpouring of support for this little film. It was a labor of love by the entire team especially during the hot August shoot days. I was blessed to have friends working on the film who were dedicated to helping me bring this special story to life.
When your fulltime job is being a creative director and a mother, your side hustle can take years to complete - five years to be exact. During the four year post process there were cringe worthy moments. I’d evolved as an artist and I felt like I could have made different creative choices. I let this nagging feeling haunt me for years, until one day a fellow artist told me, “done is better than perfect,” and that was the permission I needed to just FINISH. I’m proud of finishing Junebug and dreaming big.