Horses Healing – Feature Documentary [In Post-Production]

Story

At its heart, Liyan: The Healing Place (working title) is a cinematic tribute to instinct, spirit, and rediscovery. It’s about a group of young people in the Kimberley – full of charm, contradiction, and untapped potential – who find their voices through unexpected relationships with horses. What begins as a gentle encounter between horse and human unfolds into a profound, transformational story.

As a director, I’ve always been drawn to stories that reawaken something we’ve forgotten: our place in nature, the wisdom of the body, the magic of the everyday. In this film, those themes come alive not through a didactic lens, but through joy, humour, and deep emotional truth. We are not telling a story about trauma – we are telling a story about overcoming it. That distinction is essential. Our goal is not to dwell in the dark but to walk through it, carried by the resilience of our characters and the intuitive grace of the horses that guide them.

I see this film as a spiritual cousin to My Octopus Teacher, but grounded in the red earth of the Kimberley. Juli Coffin, our protagonist, is a horse-mad, fiercely intelligent, deeply grounded woman who has poured her life into helping kids who often go unseen. Through her, and the kids she mentors, we explore what it means to be heard by another creature – sometimes for the first time.

The wild brumbies are not a backdrop, but a living metaphor. As prey animals, they don’t respond to dominance; they respond to presence. Their ability to synchronise heartbeats with humans, to mirror emotion, is not just scientific wonder – it’s mythological. They are our mirror, our mentor, and our medicine.

This film has been shaped with a deep understanding of story structure, cinematic language, and audience connection. We’ve spent years interrogating how to tell this story in a way that entertains as much as it enlightens. It’s structured like a narrative feature, with character arcs, payoffs, crescendos, and emotional release. Our tonal references include Boy by Taika Waititi and the kinetic, music-driven storytelling of Baz Luhrmann. We embrace humour, music, and vibrant visual storytelling to ensure this film feels as alive and loveable as the people in it.

Most of all, Liyan: The Healing Place is a hopeful film. In a world increasingly disconnected, it reminds us that truth isn’t always found in intellect—it can also be found in silence, in instinct, in the eyes of a horse who sees you before you see yourself.

The arc of the main characters:

Professor Juli: A nurturing yet fierce mentor, Juli embodies resilience and wisdom. She humorously and gently guides young people while fighting to expand her program..
Heather: Representing the hero archetype, Heather’s journey is one of transformation. Lost at first, she finds solace and self-connection through her bond with Elvis, a horse mirroring her own feelings of displacement.
Athena: The rebellious, endearing “outlaw,” Athena’s journey is turbulent but ultimately hopeful. Her relationship with her horse, Paris, symbolises her path to self-acceptance, showing her growth through humour and struggle.
The Young Brumby Foal: This foal’s story mirrors the young people’s journeys, capturing separation, survival, and reintegration as symbols of innocence, resilience, and the deep connection to nature.