Claudio Martins and Raquel Garcia on the unlikely friendship in Juzé

Juzé is a heartwarming short film about a young boy who is deaf, from a diverse team that includes Raquel Garcia (director and producer) and Cláudio Martins (animator, scriptwriter and coordinator of artistic production), alongside a talented team of artists — including those who are deaf themselves. Their film tells the boy’s tale with touching sympathy and a vivid imagination. It explores the cycle of life through the perspective of the boy and his unlikely friend from remarkably different universes; a friendly humpback whale. The story calls upon familiar themes of fantasy and friendship to deliver a vast ocean of emotions, brought to life in a beautiful, painterly style. 

Visually, the film references mediums such as watercolor and crayon, rendered for the screen in highly textured 2D animation. The film was made entirely in Toon Boom Harmony, and achieves a dreamy atmosphere with a palette that evokes the nostalgia of the beach and the sea. The team used many features of Harmony to achieve this style, from the shadows and light effects to building Juze’s character rigs.

We spoke with Raquel and Cláudio about their work on the film and their respective roles on the production, and discussed the warm reception that Juzé has received so far. They share some of the production’s unique challenges, and how they came together as a team to create this sensitive, stylish and truly special piece of animated film. Check out the trailer for Juzé and read on for our full interview below…

In your own words, please give a short summary of your upcoming film, Juzé.

Raquel: Juzé is a magical and fantasy film, where two beings from different universes know each other and connect in an unusual way throughout their lives. With a look that refers to watercolor and crayons, it expresses the sensitivity of the theme that the film provides. A film about friendship and the cycle of life.

Cláudio: Yes, it's a very touching story. It's about the life cycle. It's about unconditional love. How two beings can be united independently of everything and without judgment.

What will viewers find most unique about Juze?

Raquel: The story of an impossible friendship, a little deaf boy hears for the first time the song of the lonely humpback whale. Because his song is on a specific frequency, Juzé discovers that he can hear precisely that frequency, giving birth to a friendship for life between two completely different beings, but with the same dilemma: loneliness.

As a first-time director, what were some of the unique challenges in leading animation at Juze?

Raquel: When I was creating the story, my biggest challenge was finding the link between the whale and the boy. Why did they have this connection? It was then that I remembered my father-in-law who used a hearing aid and turned it off whenever he wanted — it reminded me of tuning a radio. This reminded me of the detail of the humpback whale singing at 52 MHz. No other species can hear it. The boy being able to hear the song at 52mhz, served me as a spectacular solution. 

On a technical level, choosing the artistic line to create this short was challenging, as I am passionate about texture. But animating in 2D, especially with textures, makes the process longer. Depending on the texture, and the movement where it will be embedded, failures occur and we have to rethink scenes so that it would be possible to continue with the texture of the watercolor painting that I chose for the short.

How would you describe the color palette that gives the film its atmosphere and how did you decide on it?

Raquel: A vivid watercolor in pastel tones, which conveys the idea of the film, making the atmosphere more pleasant, and conveying the lightness of the short. I also took into account the palette of the beginning of the day and the evening and dusk. 

From the beginning, the idea was to use watercolor and texture. I wanted to convey, through the palettes, the transition from day to night, following the cycle of life.

Did anything inspire the approach to the main character’s designs?

Raquel: Yes, I was inspired by the style of the artist Sid Meireles, who created the first concepts and drawings for the short. I liked the tones and the technique. Later we continued with artist Carlitos Pinherio, who, following the watercolor style, adapted it for the final designs. 

Please introduce some of the key team members from the project…

Raquel: One of the people who were essential for the construction of the project was Cleyton Santos. He's a teacher and is deaf himself. Cleyton brought the nuances and guidelines of how Juzé could behave and communicate. Cleyton was also the reference actor for us to be able to animate the main character. 

Another essential person was Cláudio Martins, animator, screenwriter and one of the creators of the story. Cláudio, in addition to scripting, was the coordinator of artistic production, creating the links between the team and the production workflow, supervising all the parameters.

Cláudio: There was also Alana Oliveira, a sign interpreter, who guided us in the film.

What was the response from the deaf community at the pre-screening of the film?

Cláudio: Because we have a deaf character, we animated in a way that portrays him in a representative way. We did a pre-screening with a deaf audience here and the reaction was very emotional. 

Raquel: We received positive feedback from the deaf community, we received several reports of gratitude, and with testimonials that the short was sensitive and that it conveyed a light idea, between the friendship of two very different beings. We heard that they felt represented in the film's narrative. Despite the film not being about deafness, we were able to portray their story with lightness and without ableism.

How did Toon Boom Harmony help you and the team to achieve Juze’s painterly style?

Cláudio: Toon Boom Harmony was the tool chosen, because it is an animated short that would involve various techniques and styles. We thought that the sea would be a challenge, and it was, but it was a challenge that was totally possible using the tool. 

The characters all had shadows and textures, which made the rigs more complex, but it was fluid within the process, without bugs or losses. The software was stable and met all the expected demands. 

Including much of the post-production! Especially the scenes on the undersea, which contained light, refractions, distortions and effects. We practically didn't do post-production on other software. 

Any final words or thanks to finish?

Raquel: Being able to write a story, and being able to put it into living form, for the world, is a wonderful feeling. We often forget this magic in the day-to-day of production, which takes time, piece by piece, until the final editing and effects. But without the support and sponsorship of the Ceará Department of Culture, and the Government of the State of Ceará, it would be impossible. To make a short film we need support and encouragement, and that's what we got from them.

I would like to thank each of the members, who participated in the short, from its creation, editing, creation of the characters. I would especially like to thank Cláudio Martins, who was essential to the making of this short.

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• Juzé is currently showing in animation festivals and will debut online in January. You can learn more about the film on Animare's website.
• Interested in creating an independent animated short? Artists can get started by downloading a 21-day trial of Harmony Premium.