Two members of opposing gangs share a moment during a seemingly innocent game of basketball.
Starring: Nick Preston & Lawrence Walker
Written & Directed by Adam Palmer
Director of Photography - Aram Atkinson
Editor - Nathan Coetzee
Composer - Thom Robson
Made by participants of BFI Network x BAFTA Crew 2019
Judas is a recent Semi-Finalist at The People’s Film Festival, and soon it could make the leap to become a Finalist, but for now enjoy this cinematically stunning short film which features beautifully subtle performances and a killer score from TPFF award-winning composer Thom Robson.
Recently we caught up with writer/director Adam Palmer to ask him some questions about his film…
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FILMMAKING BACKGROUND:
I’m 29, based in the West Midlands, and I’ve always been fascinated by the filmmaking process. I remember getting DVDs as a kid and instantly flicking to watch the making-of and behind the scenes documentaries. At the time I just thought they were cool, but then I realised it was because I was so passionate about filmmaking and how these stories are brought to life and told. From that I started making stop-motion animation short films with lego and my computer webcam. That helped teach me the basics of editing and laying down sound effects to enhance my short stories. I was convinced it was animation that I always wanted to pursue until it was clear that I was just using what I had available to me at the time, but filmmaking was what my real love was! I continued this over the course of my education and ultimately made decisions to pursue narrative filmmaking.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE INSPIRATION BEHIND 'JUDAS'?:
‘JUDAS’ came from seeing groups of lads in my local area hanging out together. It was always such a masculine landscape, judging from the small snippets of conversations you’d hear as I’d walk past them. It got me thinking, that one person in that group might be struggling with their identity and sexuality, but are they masking it in fear of how they would be perceived? We’re in a time now where sexuality and gender and race are all being explored and people are educating themselves more, and whilst there’s still a long way to go, people are having these conversations and learning more about those who are ‘different’ to them (and I use the word ‘different’ lightly, as we’re all in this together after all!). With that in mind, I wanted to explore two characters who might be in a similar position, but from opposing gangs, and how that might affect their relationship together and with those who they consider peers.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BRING THIS FILM TO LIFE AND WHAT OBSTACLES DID YOU OVERCOME ALONG THE WAY?:
In all honesty, it was a dream to make. We decided to create ‘JUDAS’ having not made anything for a little while. Everyone on the crew works hard and finding time for passion projects like this can be tough, but everything just slid into place and everyone was available at the time. We shot on the hottest day of 2019 (sorry Aram - he had to handhold the camera rig all day and it really took it’s toll!), and we just had a great time making it. It was definitely a collaboration though. The script I wrote was more of a guide, with certain dialogue and story riffs that I really wanted to get across, with the rest of it open to interpretation from Nick Preston and Lawrence Walker (our lead actors), as well as the rest of the crew. If someone had an idea for a moment or a shot, we’d try it out and capture it. Some of those moments ended up in the edit too.
WHEN WE SCREENED YOUR FILM AT OUR OPEN MIC EVENT, MANY PEOPLE WERE DIGGING YOUR ULTRA WIDE ASPECT RATIO. WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION BEHIND THIS BOLD CHOICE?
The Open Mic event was fantastic! IT was great to reconnect with some of the crew and we all joined a Zoom call to watch along. The roster of films were great and it got us all inspired to get behind the camera again hopefully when lockdown eases. As for the aspect ration, it almost came around but accident. We shot anamorphic, because we wanted to show this wide frame so that the actors looked like they were trapped in the basketball cage, but metaphorically the cage they find themselves trapped in for not being able to be their true selves. During testing on the day we realised we could push this further by pretty much squeezing the aspect ratio again. It was a risk of course, as it’s not conventional, but that’s what these types of projects are about. It was practically no-budget, and it wasn’t for an ad or a company, so there wasn’t anything at stake. It allowed for us to experiment and I’m really glad people are enjoying it!
DID YOU HAVE ANY CREATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR CREATING QUALITY CONTENT ON A MINIMAL BUDGET:
It’s probably the old tale of ‘shoot what you have available to you’. I’m only really realising this myself thanks to the help of some good friends in the industry who follow this too. Utilise your skills and talents that you can do yourself, use locations you already have access to and keep cast or crew to a minimum and that way costs will be low. Of course, you can do all of this I’m sure on a bigger scale and keep costs low, but there will always be something that you’ll need to factor in at some point that will usually mean you’ll need to push some cash into it.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE FILMMAKING PROCESS:
Other than writing and directing, I’d probably say producing. I like seeing everything fall into place after you’ve had conversations with this person here and that person there, or you’ve just secured the location you’ve been pushing for and then that means the dates you’ve set aside can be used to shoot. It’s methodical and it’s ticking things off the list and you’re seeing real progress with your project. And it’s still creative too. I think some people can often thing producing is all about the numbers, and whilst that’s certainly not wrong, it’s also a huge creative process too. I love it, but I’d definitely like to start collaborating with producers on my future projects; people who are far more experienced and skilled at their role than I could ever be!
ANY FILM RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE CAN WATCH TO KEEP US BUSY WHILE SOCIAL DISTANCING:
I’ll be completely honest, but I’ve very much neglected watching films during lockdown! Like everyone else, 2020 has been a really tough year for me, with lockdown and family commitments, but I’ve found time to enjoy story-telling through different mediums. I’m currently playing through The Last of Us: Part 2 on the Playstation4 and it’s such an incredible narrative, with amazingly written characters. It’s certainly teaching me a lot and I definitely recommend either playing it, or watching a it online if you’re not that much of a gamer! I think the last film I saw was ‘The Good Dinosaur’, which I watched with my daughter, and we both loved that!
Interested in getting your work selected as Short of the Week?