Stationary is a new short film written and directed by Louis Chan that premiered on Million Youth Media ‘MYM’`s Youtube channel in July.
Taking place in a parked car over the course of one afternoon, former drug dealer Jimmy confronts his drug dealing childhood best friend Che about the dangerous road she is leading her younger brother Gino down.
Based in part on personal experience, Stationary is a look through the keyhole into a lifelong friendship that ended prematurely. Five years ago, Jimmy was arrested in a Police raid designed for Che and lucky to escape significant jail time.
Years have passed but the emotional scarring of the incident remains as does Jimmy’s bitterness towards Che. Jimmy struggles with his own masculinity as he now watches history on the cusp of repeating itself with Gino. With Gino on the fence about applying to University, the stakes couldn’t be higher as Jimmy desperately tries to convince Che that her younger brother isn’t built for that world.
What unfolds is a pivotal moment between two strong characters whose lives have taken different paths, and whose personal shortcomings are brought to the surface by one another as they grapple with what is best for Gino.
Stationary stars three upcoming actors: Aaron Thomas Ward (Call The Midwife), Xavien Russell (Top Boy) and Rebekah Murrell who starred in ‘Nine Night’ at the National Theatre and was recently nominated at the h100 Arts Awards for Under 30s.
We catch up with Jonathan Caicedo-Galindo, Producer of the short film after it’s premier.
How did the film come about?
My involvement in the project started when I met Louis Chan (writer and director of Stationary). We met at a networking event, and during that time, I was open to working on projects if I met the right director and if I connected with the script. I felt that from the first instance of meeting Louis, we were in the same wavelength, and I like the idea of Stationary when Louis was talking about it. Then a few months after meeting each other, I got an email from Louis saying that he finished the script and if I was interested in producing it and helping him make it if I liked it. I read it and loved it, and the journey began from there.
How long has it taken to make?
I think that the process from me coming on board to produce it and then shooting was around 5 months. We took around a month to do an in-depth casting process with involved a casting day with a different range of actors for the three roles and then doing workshops with a select few and making the decision to cast Aaron Thomas Ward as Jimmy, Rebekah Murrell as Che and Xavien Russell as Gino.
Doing the Kickstarter was a process of around two months of prep work and then a month of managing the kickstart with updates, reaching out to people and announcing milestones when we reached them. We were lucky to have Alexei Slater as Co-producer in the short film who has more experience in crowdfunding and worked on a range of short films which we were able to pick his brains of how to approach it.
Location was an unexpected issue. Even though the film is all set in one area in a car, we had to find the right location in terms of finding a street that had a dead end but also is suitable to set up a production base nearby and use a power supply.
What impact do you hope the film will have on viewers?
The impact on the film which I hope viewers will be able to feel is that you have to sometimes step back to move on or forward. One thing that drew me to Louis’ script was that I couldn’t relate to the characters in the situation that they find themselves in, but I understood them in the emotional element that the film constructed. There are moments in our late teens, and early 20’s that shape us, whether that be big or small good or bad, as we grow older, we reflect on those moments, and that is something that I could relate to. For that reason, I understood the situation that the characters faced when they had the reunion inside the car.
What’s next?
What next for us, well I’m going to be working on another short film, and hopefully, we can get the wheels moving to film by the end of the year or the start of next depending on if the situation allows us to do so in safety. Louis is currently working on writing a feature-length script.
