Unlocked SEOTY: ‘Juju The Surf Musical’ ft Jaleesa Vincent + Friends

Juju The Surf Musical, created by Jaleesa Vincent and Luca Raubenheimer, fuses surfing, music, teeth, hair, yin-yang philosophy, and fantasy into one surreal film. As Paul Evans noted in his Trilogy New Wave review, “surf films used to fill a functional need: the ritual of getting psyched”. Juju, however, with its wild mix of fantasy, music, and surfing, leaves the brain suspended in a vat of evil cackles, tubes and tap dancing. 

Though there is surfing in the film, Juju The Surf Musical is primarily driven by music and storytelling through song. “There’s not much script, it’s more just told through song,” Jaleesa shares, having written all the lyrics herself. Her band, Cupid and the Stupids, helped bring the music to life, with friends contributing vocals and harmonies that add to the dreamlike atmosphere of the film.

Visually, the film is layered with creativity. Jaleesa likens it to “a painting,” where each element — from choreography to animation — was carefully crafted to fit together. Despite being only 30 minutes long, the process involved extensive collaboration on everything from songwriting to editing. Jaleesa, working alongside director, editor and boyfriend, Luca, took a hands-on approach to the entire project.

As for the surf footage, there’s stuff from Deserts, Sandbar, and the Maldives, though surfing takes a backseat to the film’s overall narrative. “I kind of got skunked on my trips, but I got enough to make a musical”, said Jaleesa, whose first Australian screening in Byron Bay elicited a standing ovation.

A weird and wonderful departure from a typical surf flick (or Stab Edit of the year entry) if you ask me.