Heartstrings is an upcoming graduate film project written and produced by a former member of our film team, Samantha Turanski. The film takes place in the not too distant future, where a wellbeing salon ‘Heartstrings Salon’ offers a new technology that materialises the heart into entwined coloured strings.
Each colour corresponds to Robert Plutchik’s ‘Wheel of Emotions’ Theory, illustrating the relationship between our primary emotions relating to each colour. The ‘heartstrings’ consist of five different colours; yellow representing happiness, orange for vigilance/passion, red represents anger, blue for sadness, and green for fear. When someone’s emotions are unbalanced, it means that the corresponding strings are hanging loose. ‘Heartstrings Salon’ has qualified technicians that can tighten these strings, thus helping customers feel instantly better.
The story focuses on Elizabeth, an aspiring violinist, who is deeply in love with her best friend Andre. In order to avoid potential heartache, she impulsively cuts all of her heartstrings. But she does not let this destroy her. In the aftermath of this destructive behaviour, she realises that before she sets out to love anyone else, she must first learn to love herself, to prevent her from losing what she truly loves.
Samantha drew inspiration from the phrase “tugs at the heartstrings”, as well as an artwork from Sydney’s infamous Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in 2014.
Although it draws interest at first due to the seemingly sci-fi nature of the premise, Heartstrings touches on something that is rarely explored in films:
“I want my story to inspire people to believe in themselves, especially during times of sadness, when we feel that we are at our lowest. So many love stories are about finding that other person, but Heartstrings is a love story that brings it back to the importance of being able to stand on your own two feet, without relying on others for your happiness. It’s about recognising the strength in loving yourself before giving love to another.”
-Samantha Turanski, Writer and Producer of Heartstrings
The team are currently asking for monetary contributions to go towards production of the film. A number of perks are available depending on your donation! Head to the indiegogo campaign here for more details.
And if you’re unable to contribute financially, sharing the campaign helps in more ways than you know! Follow (and share!) their social media accounts below: