Miko Was Here is an animated 160-minute fantasy adventure.
Set aboard a ghostly tankship at sea and inspired by the supernatural
tales of that setting, we explore the vast depth of the extraordinary
unknown.
The feeling of wonder as Chihiro crosses the riverbed in Spirited Away...
the lonely solitude that Kiki endures in Kiki’s Delivery Service... the dreamy
other-world of The Boy and the Heron...
Emotional, meditative, and rooted in character, Miko Was Here is a love
letter to the great animator Hayao Miyazaki and the Japanese folktales
that inspired him.
Sea stories have always captured the imagination of the public.
We’ve seen the most well-known, Moby Dick and Life Of Pi,
represented on film and television. But the story of Urashima
Tarō, familiar to most Japanese children, remains unexplored.
The title character, a fisherman on the Japanese coast, is
rewarded for rescuing a turtle and is escorted by spirits to the
Dragon Palace beneath the sea. He spends what he believes
to be several days there, but when he returns to his home
village, he discovers he has been gone for at least a century.
Variations of the story differ in the fate of the protagonist. Some say he
transforms into an old man. Some say he transforms into a crane.
We have a different ending in mind...
A seventeen-year-old Miko becomes a stowaway on a ghost ship and struggles to return home to the land of the living.
-----
It’s New Year’s Eve.
Miko celebrates her last night in her city. Her decision to move devastates her friends,
especially her closest friend, Hibiscus. We watch their tearful goodbye and follow Miko to the ocean, where she swims one last time. Alone.
Violent now, the waves clash against Miko, writhing as if disturbed by something big -
An engine
roars
and shrieks -
A colossal ship emerges out of thin air - kidnapping Miko. Taking her far, far away.
Throughout the series, the Big Ship will carry Miko deeper into another world... a universe filled with ghosts and sea dragons, wonder and loneliness.
Miko will glimpse into the vast blue world and consider:
how far away is home now?
To return home, Miko must venture deeper into this unfamiliar world and learn not only to survive and sail...but to keep herself hopeful.
Miko Was Here will be structured like a film, but broken down into four episodes. There will be a
definitive beginning, middle, and end. There will be no loose ends after the finale, and our sole character
will have a complete arc. The limited nature of the project will allow us to distribute as a film or a series.
EPISODE ONE depicts Miko attending a New Year’s Eve farewell party thrown
by her best friend Hibiscus, only to be swept away by a colossal, ghostly ship that emerges from the ocean. Alone and frightened,
she explores the eerie vessel, encountering glowing spirits who offer her strange gifts. When she accepts a pair of shoes from a ghost,
she unknowingly binds herself to the ship and its spectral inhabitants. As the ship sails into a vast, unknown world,
Miko begins a journey that will challenge her sense of self and her connection to the home she left behind.
EPISODE TWO cuts forward three months as Miko adapts to life aboard the ghostly Big Ship,
forming bonds with its spectral inhabitants while plundering treasures from floating islands.
Her confidence grows, but so does her arrogance, as she takes from silent, sorrowful ghosts without remorse.
But when a mysterious storm suddenly appears, Miko discovers that she was never alone on the ship.
The episode will end with Miko discovering Oto, the ship’s fading former captain.
EPISODE THREE will cut forward three months again,
as the contentious relationship between Miko and Oto implodes. We learn that, to pass over the captaincy of the ship,
Oto had purposefully abducted Miko. Reluctant and resentful, Miko abandons the Big Ship and takes refuge on an oil rig,
where she encounters the Corpus, a horrifying fusion of lost souls trapped in a mechanical nightmare.
EPISODE FOUR will climax as the Corpus reveals that Miko’s plundering
of the floating islands has condemned the spirits to eternal suffering. Haunted by guilt and relentlessly pursued by the Corpus,
Miko is forced to confront the consequences of her choices. When the Big Ship returns, she reconciles with Oto,
and together they find their way back to Miko’s home... only to discover that 300 years have passed since Miko’s abduction.
Heartbroken, Miko realizes her old life is gone forever.
The visuals will be stylistic, distinctive, and uniquely hand
crafted. With a combination of live-action and animation,
real actors will be composited and styled against painted
backgrounds.
Since Miko Was Here takes inspiration from Japanese maritime fiction,
the style will take inspiration from woodblock prints,
giving the show a pronounced “physical” feeling.
While this will create a special look, the visuals must never
overwhelm the story or character; Studio Ghibli’s films have a certain
timeless quality to them, and we will strive for the same.
The soundtrack should feel as whimsically haunting as the
spirits aboard the ship. Inspired by the sound and philosophy
of musique concrète, the music will manipulate environmental
sounds, natural sounds, noises, and human voices into a
symphony of sounds, blending score with sound design.
The adventure of Miko Was Here is solitary—but surrounded by
life. Ghosts, creatures, ships, the spirit realm...
we want to use Miko’s journey alone to ground the vibrance of the fantastical world.
Our perspective throughout the show will remain fixed on Miko and her emotions,
finding moments of introspection through solitude. Her desperate attempt to establish a routine while at sea will be shattered by new disruptions.
Following the belief that daily chores nourish the soul, we plan to represent a variety of cleaning, exercise, and work required to keep the ship afloat.
The show will also prominently feature the rare natural beauty of our world. Auroras, moonbows, mirages, broken specters...
Our character will encounter these real phenomena as well as real man-made horrors.
How will Miko cope with the abundance of both beauty and the grotesque? One day at a time.
The People
MIKO is a spirited and curious seventeen-year-old, with a flair for the dramatic and a deep sense of independence.
Tall and elegant, she often dresses in a mix of different styles. Her journey begins with a sense of adventure but quickly turns into a struggle for
survival and self-discovery. As she navigates the ghostly world, her resilience and kindness shine, but her arrogance and guilt also surface.
Despite her flaws, Miko’s longing for home always pushes her forward.
HIBISCUS, Miko’s best friend, is short, scrappy, and down-to-earth, often wearing the same hoodie many days in a row.
Fiercely loyal and deeply emotional, she struggles to say goodbye to Miko.
Though she appears only briefly, Hibiscus leaves a lasting impact on Miko. As a result of Miko’s abduction,
Hibiscus will never see her friend again. Nonetheless, Hibisus keeps Miko’s memory alive by living on.
The Spirits
CAPTAIN OTO is the ghostly captain of the Big Ship.
Once a teenage girl like Miko, Oto has spent an unknown amount of time as the ship’s captain, her humanity fading as she becomes more spectral.
She’s been searching for a replacement to take over the captaincy. While her tactics are questionable -
and her loneliness and desire to move on are palpable - Oto is patient and protective.
Her complex relationship with Miko evolves from one of resentment to mutual understanding, culminating in a bittersweet farewell as she finally finds peace.
THE CORPUS is a horrifying and tragic creature, a grotesque fusion of countless lost souls bound together by wires,
cables, and machinery. It is both a prisoner and a manifestation of the pain caused by Miko’s actions,
as the spirits trapped within it were abandoned by her and left to decay. Despite its terrifying appearance,
the Corpus is deeply pitiable. In its final moments, it Miko finds a way to give it peace, allowing its spirits to finally move on.
The Ship
THE BIG SHIP is a large multi-purpose tanker ship. She was converted into a floating storage and an offloading
unit for trash, but drifted out to sea, never to be found again. Being adrift for so long, she became a sentient ghost ship, becoming a refuge
for lost souls. She requires much daily maintenance to keep afloat.
She will never drop anchor, will never take the shortest path, and will always seek adventure.
Even though Miko Was Here is designed as a limited series,
the story can be exhibited as both a series and a feature.
Additionally, the story of Miko can continue in subsequent
installments. The hypothetical sequel will take place on the same
ship, only centuries later, as Miko seeks a captain to replace her.
Our perspective will remain on Miko and she is placed in the
same situation as Oto was. This will allow us to explore many
of the same characters, themes, and wonder from the original
series, but with a new sci-fi twist and a fresh set of faces.
Credits
Miko is played by Judy Song.
Hibiscus is played by Selma Elbalalesy.
Directed and written by Kai Tattersall.
Creative direction by Valerie Jackson.
Produced by Bijan Kazerooni, Zarye Wossene.
Co-produced by Sami Martin Sarmiento, Max Von Der Horst, Mitchell Crispi
Director of Photography: Jeremy Kemp.
Gaffer: Mitchell Crispi.
Grip: Jason O'Connor, Ghina Luthfiya.
Sound Recordest: Scott Johnson.
Performance Director: Max Von Der Horst.
Casting Assistant: Cas Pryer.
Assistant Director: Valerie Jackson.
Costume Designer: Sami Martin Sarmiento.
Hair and Makeup: Camilah Leclère.
Music: Myles Ortiz-Green.
Edit: Kai Tattersall.
Sound Design: Kai Tattersall.
Clothing provided by:
United Nude
Echo Park Surf Squad
Sylvester Cetina
Special thanks to:
Mike Patterson
Rick Parks
John Rosenberg
Jennifer Warren
