Directed by Panji Kaonga
Written & Produced by Stephen Maddox
When life couldn't get any worse, Jack realises his flight is from Glasgow and not Gatwick. Attempting to catch a last minute train from London, he is confronted with his stage in life by his fellow passengers.
Everyone is Jack. We all need Iris.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH STEPHEN
Tell us a bit about yourself and your filmmaking background.
PANJI: I grew up in Zambia, in South Central Africa, where we have a strong folktale culture. As early as primary school, we’d have time slots to stand in front of the class and tell a story. That was always a highlight for me. Couldn’t afford equipment early on but got creative with whatever I had, which meant getting electric shocks a few times :)
STEPHEN: I grew up in Chicago watching films and TV with my dad. In university I made my first short film SLEEPING WITH YOUR EYES OPEN and a TV pilot BACK ISSUE. In 2010, I fell heavy into screenwriting; completing feature scripts, short film scripts, and promos. Upon moving to London in 2017 I founded my film company “southside films” (named after my punk band from university) and our debut short was JOURNEY. Since then, I’ve made LUCID (short film) a best screenplay winner, ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (poetic short film), A WALK TOGETHER (micro short), one of the producers on a feature film and an informational piece on human trafficking, wrote and directed two documentaries, and two Christmas specials with music videos, and still more works in the pipeline.
What was your inspiration? Why did you decide to make Journey?
STEPHEN: When first moving to London a station was clearing out and I found out someone had jumped in front of the train. After trying to find the story in the news later in the day, I realised how common it was in London and around the UK. Later a friend visited from the US and was very frustrated with their stage in life and that led to the blending of both stories into Journey.
We wanted to make Journey to encourage people to reach out when feeling lonely or hurting and for all of us to talk to those near us to check in and make sure people are doing okay. Whatever we can do to help stop suicide and those feeling alone.
PANJI: Journey is a relevant story today and one I can relate to. I’ve been in Jack’s position before and it’s great when you have the chance to meet someone who shifts your perspective.
What obstacles did you overcome while in the making of this film?
STEPHEN: We weren’t success for BFI funding and the first round of crowd funding was a flop, so we lost our original cast. The second round of funding happened because of a ton of people chipping in what they could afford and then two large donors came in the end. The original story started outside the station and through the station. After trimming the budget back it meant the story was to be done in a day and in one setting.
PANJI: Finding the right location and conditions was challenging. Had to adjust the script a little to work with what was available within our budget. We shot on a static train and had to be creative with lighting and fake rain.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences.
PANJI: Right from the start we included the festival run in the budget. Stephen, the writer, and producer did such a great job researching and shortlisting potential festivals and audiences we could target. We’ve taken advantage of networking opportunities and have enjoyed meeting other filmmakers and sharing experiences.
STEPHEN: We went through festival rounds and sharing it with anyone and everyone. Ultimately a streaming company IVOX+ saw it at the Aspen Film Festival market and asked to put it on their streaming site as well.
Words of wisdom. What advice would you give to other filmmakers?
STEPHEN: Make projects, keep collaborating, and keep going. This isn’t a sprint, it’s a lifetime marathon. Keep writing, keep shooting, but finish the damn thing. Nothing worse than stories dying on hard drives. Ask for help, see what people think, keep experimenting, but just keep typing and keep shooting. Each project hones your skills and makes you a better storyteller and filmmaker. We need everyone’s story. In a day when it’s content overload the main thing is picking the right concept and working with a premise that’s unshakeable, but every story matters.
PANJI: Don’t wait for the right moment and conditions to start, use whatever you’ve got and keep making films. Keep practising and make great connections with creatives along the way.
What are you working on now?
PANJI: I have a couple of films in post-production but also writing a short thriller on cyber-crime.
STEPHEN: Finishing up a micro budget/micro short to compete in that category. Developing a music video/short film with an independent artist that starts shooting in August. Writing a feature script with a writing partner with aims of it being a debut feature film for 2023. Developing a documentary on human trafficking that films at the end of the year. Really want to shoot a project on film soon.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
STEPHEN: I’m too much of a fanboy to narrow it down, I just love cinema. I love classics and early works from artists like Chinatown, Casablanca, Sunset Blvd., Memento, etc. For me it’s just watch films. Figure out why they shot it certain ways, why did the cast make the choices they made, why does the story move you.
PANJI: Catch Me If You Can, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Inception.