GENESIS OF THE IDEA

 

As this was to be my directorial debut, I spent a significant amount of time thinking about the kind of story I wanted to tell. I knew right from the outset that my desire as a filmmaker has always been to create powerful and engaging stories that connect with people on a very real level, ultimately leaving an audience with a message of hope. The story genius Robert McKee so beautifully puts “Craft is the sum total of all of the means used to draw an audience into deep involvement, to hold that involvement and ultimately reward it with a meaningful experience.” If only it were as easy as it sounds!! But nonetheless, I was out searching for that meaningful experience worthy of putting to screen. 

 

After pouring over countless books, news articles, people watching and delving into my memory bank for sources of inspiration, I happened across a short story that grabbed my attention and fired my imagination – it was of course ‘The Room’ by Joshua Harris, which has gone on to fuel the inspiration for the final piece, The File Room.

 

PRODUCTION STORY

 

Perhaps the biggest challenge of the whole journey was the production. With a minimal budget of 5K and a story that demanded high production value, the difficulty was always going to be to convincingly visualize the concept with minimal resource. With industry experience in production and a passionate drive to realize the story to its fullest potential, I decided to take on the role of the Producer. The production involved long hours searching for the elusive File Room location, casting the perfect characters for the roles and sourcing the right team to make it all happen.

 

To this day I still don’t quite know how we pulled it off, but the defining mark of the process has been the overwhelming level of support and enthusiasm shown towards the project. Without the passion and commitment of a cast and crew who were willing to work for the love of the art and the tremendous support and generosity of all parties involved, this film would not have been possible.

 

 

FILMIC APPROACH

 

My biggest concern from a directorial perspective was how to keep the film visually engaging within the static environment of one location.  I knew that the performances would need to be strong enough to drive the action but I also recognised that I needed to create a visually dynamic and engaging space. The interaction of the Polaroid files in The File Room played a large role in this. I wanted to use the files as a mechanism to create a world in which you can see the bleeding of past and present, memory and denial. As the film progresses the files become more infused with the reality of the Peter’s experience in the file room, this intensity is mirrored by his character journey –he begins to break more as the files increasingly proliferate his reality.