Honorable Mention – “jOSHUA” (USA)

Title: jOSHUA
Runtime: 16 min
Country: USA
Director: Cooper Griggs
Placement: Honorable Mention
Competition: March 31, 2017

Synopsis: “The Children of the night… what sweet music they make…” – Bram Stoker

jOSHUA is a tale of the lost and of the ones that prey on them. Set in suburbia and a modern metropolis, this dark tale focuses on the perils of Katherine, as she navigates the rough path of her trade. When she meets Joshua, she is intrigued by his intellect, his charisma, and the way he exudes calm. Is he what he appears to be, or is he something darker than the night around them? Is he the good, religious man-child living with his elderly grandmother, or is he a charlatan with unspeakable nefarious appetites and desires?

jOSHUA is a snippet from the novel ‘The Dark One’ by Jason Krieger. The short film, directed by Cooper Griggs, is intending to introduce these characters to the viewer, in the hopes that they will find an audience that would like to see the full story.

WRITER/ EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/ COMPOSER Q&A

GS: What was the inspiration for your film?

JK: From a writing aspect, the inspiration for ‘jOSHUA’ was several things, from my interest in serial killers and true crime stories to the gothic writings of Bram Stoker and Edgar Allen Poe.  The dark side of human nature has always intrigued me – how does someone ‘break bad’ at what point is it nature vs. nurture, what can be a byproduct of this awful humanity?

From a visual aspect, but Cooper Griggs (Director, Producer of ‘jOSHUA’) and I had a shared vision of a gritty side of Los Angeles that most do not capture, although is pressed, really influences by Michael Mann’s ‘Collateral’ and most of David Fincher’s stylistic films.

GS: When did you conceive the idea for your film and how long did it take before it was realized?

JK: The original impetus on the writing side came from dream that I had in college 20 years ago.  They obviously were unique, stroking and stayed with me.

The conversations of the short began in 2015 when Cooper, Fyza Griggs (Producer) and I began kicking around ideas for a project.

GS: What was the most challenging aspect of working in a short film format?

JK: Patience!

Knowing that putting together an independent film takes time, a lot of passion and calling in a ton of favors.  Its important to embrace the process and realize that each phase has its own unique challenges, whether its finding the right cast in pre-production, making sure we utilize the location to it’s fullest during filming, making the right choices editorially in post.

Just be patient and work the process!

GS: What was the most challenging aspect of your production?

JK: Raising the money for one thing to do it but also the post process and the realization that slow and steady wins the race.  Post was particularly frustrating, but with the additional couple of months we went over, it did enable more nuance to the final product, in so much that music was reworked, scenes were constructed better in editing and sound was made exceptionally.

GS: Do you have any advice for first-time filmmakers?

JK: Plan as much as you can in advance, but also know that in film – nothing ever goes as planned.  Try to have a sense of humor about it because there will be frustrating aspects in the creation of a film, but when it’s all done and you look at the piece (after rewriting, editing, scoring hundreds of times) – there is a completely amazing satisfaction that you did something that very few ever do.  Don’t be afraid of the process, just do it!