About Us - The Horizon Haze Story

Horizon Haze began in 2004 with a high school project for an English II Honors class. The assignment was to make a presentation reenacting a few scenes from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." The group, Gavin Rehkemper, Adam Winkeler, Amber Meier, Nathan Munie, Jared Petermeyer, Theresa Steiner, and Emily Huelsmann, set out to make an "Office Space"-like spoof of two "Julius Caesar" scenes. Amber Meier wrote the script, and Theresa's father allowed the group to use his office as a filming location. Although he was not in the class, Doug Litteken joined in to help with the filming. It turned out to be a long night, but well worth it.

While strapped for a name during final editing, "Horizon Haze" was born out of some ideas and quick Google searches. The project, completed by the newly named "Horizon Haze Productions" received a 100% grade, and the class was thoroughly impressed. Horizon Haze Productions was officially born.

The following summer brought a "$30 Steadycam" to the group, and some test movies were filmed starring Jared Petermeyer as a carpet salesman. That season also brought the "Horror Movie," which was created on-the-fly without a script at Jared's house. The lack of prep-work truly showed. The group did strike a chord of genius soon after when "MD Band Survivor" was filmed during a school trip to New York City.

After a few more school projects and a music video featuring Foosball, Horizon Haze aimed for more lengthy and meaningful films. Spring 2005 brought one of the Horizon Haze classics, "Silent Film." Based on silent movies from the Wild West era, this film incorporated old-film filters and dialog title screens. Although the screen was an early success, some reviewers deemed it a bit too long.

In summer 2005, Nathan Munie directed a short film "Kaboom." A satire on car problems, this film follows a boy who is distraught whether to drive his damaged car home or pay the social consequences. Adding to the drama of the film is hard-metal background music and a dark conclusion.

One more year of school projects and a trip to Walt Disney World later, the Horizon Haze team split to pursue further study: college. "Three Wishes" was filmed over the Christmas break of 2006. A play on the classic premise of a genie granting three wishes, this tale ends in tragedy as the main protagonist wishes for something that is just not possible.

While at school, Gavin and Doug participated in a film festival which brought to Horizon Haze "Day 1." The short film followed a college freshman on his first day of his new life. Although the film did not place in the top three in the contest, we are all pretty sure it was a close fourth place.

During summer 2007, Adam Winkeler wrote and directed "Casuistry," one of Horizon Haze's more serious films. Shot in black and white, a constant background of chimes adds an edgy element to one of the most intense Horizon Haze films ever created.

Most recently, the greatest of all Horizon Haze movies was created: "I-19." The film was inspired when Gavin received a Bingo game for the holidays. The movie follows a young adult as he overcomes the sudden death of his grandmother and his fear of a certain Bingo number. As serious as it may sound, the film features slap-stick comedy that is sure to please any Bingo amateur or pro.