Sunflowers the Summary

When JJ is found unconscious backstage at a benefit gig for "World War Child" all are shocked - did the new star of the R&B scene attempt suicide? If so, there is only one question on the world's fevered lips -WHY?

Some in the media assume the rumored split from her paparazzi boyfriend Simon is to blame claiming he seems more interested in "the Shirley" story than his relationship with JJ. Others the recent death of her adopted mother Elsie and the widening gulfs with her reclusive aunt Shirley a world-renowned diva. The more outlandish and down-market tabloids smell hard drugs. Only one man knows the truth - and he is not of this turbulent world.

Lying in an 1C unit close to death JJ calls out question after question to her deceased mother. She thinks she is loosing her mind when she is visited by the hansom and playful Yoruba family spirit guardian Ajani who makes her a deal: face her life and seek out answers to her questions and he will fix it for her to visit some events of the past and future and help JJ find a path to her true and lasting happiness. But warns her that he only has four months to help in this way

Recovering and confused, JJ is given a diagnosis of a fatigue illness and her father/manager Gus convinces her to recuperate at her 'aunt' Shirley's isolated mansion. When JJ discovers that Shirley suffers from horrific nightmares she is intrigued but Shirley won't spill the beans. JJ is "freaked out" when Ajani suddenly takes her on a journey into the past - can she still trust her own perception of reality?

The troubled young star and the reclusive diva now walk the same uncomfortable path back into the past, searching for the courage to live in the present - the same past that has trapped Shirley now ensnares JJ.

Sunflowers - The Log Line

Script Writing School helped me sum up a movie in a few lines - long enough to explain yet short enough to engage the reader. This was one of the first:

Sunflowers the story of an adopted black girl's search - with the help of a Jazz playing African family spirit guardian - for her family and identity in England, Jamaica and Nigeria.

My Co Scriptwriter (more on him later) and I updated this.

When two Soul Diva’s from one broken family a generation apart are forced together, can they overcome hostility, suspicion and insecurity, to embrace the truly magical force shaping both their lives?" or will their minds see only Ghosts and continue to be haunted by their pasts.

“What turbulent or even sinister Family Dynamics could be lurking beneath the opening reveal of an idyllic family setting with a visionary sculpture at the helm?”

Why The STJ Blog ?

Sunflowers The Journey (STJ) is the story of my film - the story of an adopted black girl's search for her family and identity in England, Jamaica and Nigeria. Having inadvertently summoned the aid of an African jazz playing family spirit guardian, she is forced to live with an Aunt, a reclusive world famous diva with a past. It is faction - part autobiography , part fiction, telling a story of how fundemental is the need to belong and the forces that drive us as human beings to find that place. Some are born knowing where they belong, for others it's life's journey to find that place - Sunflowers is a "coming of age" journey for one girl.

STJ will attempt to capture how the film moved from an idea to the screen!