When asked about their inspiration for the film, Joe said “I wanted to see if I could make a short film that lasted a minute or less, and something that was capable of creating drama and tension, and being interesting and engaging, in as short a time period as possible.” They also spoke about their interest in exploring two characters going between two social settings. “There’s less of a social script,” they say, “and that reveals more honesty and there’s vulnerability there that I was very interested in writing about.”
The conversation then turned to exploring the film’s LGBTQ+ focus, however Joe explained that All Change was not necessarily highlighting that community, but rather a setting where the film’s story could naturally happen. They articulate that “there’s a very specific type of friendship that exists within gay men [...] that I think is conducive to people getting very close but also, because of that closeness, being able to hurt each other,” and that interesting dynamic can be seen in the finished product.
What I want to do in the future is just have the ability to write the things I want, and the things I care about.
All Change is Joe’s directorial debut, and they spoke a lot about the challenge of bringing their first film together, most notably making sure that the actors were able to perform naturally and with subtlety. “We did a day’s rehearsal [...] in this little room beneath a church,” Joe explains, which helped the actors to bond and where they were free to try out ideas that might not work. “I think that’s a key part of any successful production,” they stress, “you can try ideas out, if they don’t work, you don’t get punished for that.”
On the subject of ideas and exploring your creative passions, Joe made it clear that, despite the recognition All Change is receiving, their creative drive extends far beyond the world of filmmaking, with a play and a novel among many projects he has in the works. They told us, “I love any form of writing, and any form of writing that’s on your terms [...] and what I want to do in the future is just have the ability to write the things I want, and the things I care about.”
Joe stresses just how formative their experience at Newcastle University was to who they are, saying “Newcastle as a whole is such a great city because there’s so many people that are so talented and so enthusiastic and so willing to talk about art in whatever form." This led us to the end of our conservation: looking at the future of the arts in Newcastle, and offering advice to wannabe creatives in Newcastle. “I think film, or any art, has the ability to codify the time in which it was made,” they state, “and I think if we do want to tell original stories, the types that haven’t been told before, we will have to get out of London much, much more.”
I think people in Newcastle shouldn’t wait for permission to do something creative. I think they should just recognise they are talented, they are hard-working, they can do it, and they should.
Joe makes the point that “anyone who has come into the industry that isn’t usually part of it has usually had to fight so much harder for it, and that means there’s no self-indulgence [...] They’re so hard-working, they’re so good at what they do, and I think that discipline and that lack of self-indulgence is the key to making anything great.”
As for advice they would give to creatives, Joe’s is simple: see all your ideas through. “There’s a lot of lessons to be learned in finishing a creative work that you will never learn in just starting one [...] It will imbue you with discipline and craft and humility [...] that will take you by the hand and change you.”
Joe is incredibly excited to have their film featured at the North East International Film Festival, describing it as “a really lovely full-circle moment,” and if you want to see All Change at the festival then you can come along to Tyneside Cinema on Sunday 26th at 1:30pm, where you can see Joe’s film as well as countless others with a 3-day free student pass.
Until then, we’ll end on some final words of wisdom from Joe. “I think people in Newcastle shouldn’t wait for permission to do something creative, I think they should just recognise they are talented, they are hard-working, they can do it, and they should.”