Nostalgia juice.
Ouzo, blackcurrant cordial and lemonade.
On a sunny afternoon, two old school friends, Jeanie and Esta, take a nostalgic trip to the junkyard where they used to drink as wayward teens. But this place is now tainted by tragedy, and Jeanie makes a horrific discovery when she raises her phone to take a photograph.
Written and directed by BAFTA nominee Nat Luurtsema- her career began as a stand-up comedian for eight years. Nat then wrote and starred in the short film Island Queen (BAFTA nominee 2014) and Three Women Wait For Death (Best Short – Encounters 2016). She wrote and directed Wyrdoes (Film4’s Shakespeare’s Sister scheme) and directed War Paint, (Creative England’s Emerging Talent Fund). She is developing five features: Annie’s Got Body Issues (BAFTA Rocliffe alumnus, shortlisted for iFeatures); Murder Fans (shortlisted for 4screenwriting and iFeatures); The Clean Up (Film London’s Microwave scheme), an adaptation of Helen Cross’ novel Spilt Milk Black Coffee and horror feature Lake Josephine (current finalist in FrightFest’s New Blood award, giving £750,000 to the winner).
Ouzo and Blackcurrant stars Cherelle Skeete (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hanna) and Mini’s very own Sara Huxley (Silent Witness), with cinematography by Illuminatrix’s Martyna Knitter, and executively produced by Christian Parton of Genera Films.
The film stormed the horror festival circuit bringing joy and jumps to many:
“With a smart use of tech and some beautiful photography Nat Luurtsema conjures up two massive scares that sent us scurrying to the kitchen to make some nerves steadying tea before…” – Live For Film
“For a story which was effectively two people in a single place, my visual attention was always kept. The performances were natural, which, coupled with the setting made the scares work as they slowly crept in. Kudos also has to go for the inventive use of the characters using their phones as a means of telegraphing the spectres presence. You’ll look twice through the viewfinder next time you take a selfie.” – London Horror Comic
In 2021, Crypt TV caught wind of our mini horror and distributed on their YouTube channel to millions of followers.
Off the back of Ouzo and Blackcurrant’s success, Mini is currently in development with Nat on a horror-comedy feature.