Director's Statement:
As a director, sound and image are very important to me, they need to work together harmoniously to build up the emotionality of the characters’ lives and to help the audience feel what the characters are feeling. The scenes in Crossroads were emotionally difficult for both the actors and the crew, but it was so important for me that the audience saw real life people in real life situations. Homosexuality has been seen as one of the forefront concerns in regards to prejudice for many years and thankfully, the rise of LGBT campaigners especially via the media platform, including films, TV shows, music and social media websites has given people a platform to discuss their human rights.
In order to create a social change, I believe we need to re-establish who we are, where we come from and what we bring to the world. Cinema is a strong method of communication and it has the power to create change and help allow people to see the real human condition at its rawest.
When casting, I made it the forefront of the casting breakdown that my actors should be able to feel their characters deep within themselves, I was very happy when my actors acted out their scenes because all I saw was raw emotion, in fact, one of my actors was so moved, he was brought to tears during his audition and it was then I knew they fully understood their characters.
The idea of Crossroads was one I very much wanted to bring to life for many years because it touches on so many areas that are so prominent in our world. As a heterosexual woman who has written and directed a film focusing on LGBTQ I am often asked why, as a straight woman, I made this sort of film, I can almost hear you asking that same question…
It wasn’t just about sexuality for me; it was also about people’s feelings to different scenarios. Adrian is dealing with the loss of his wife and he has taken this loss far worse than he could ever have imagined. He is a strong person, confident and hard-working yet he is now a fragment of that person, lost without his wife, so much so, anything to do with his wife, such as his son, is far too much to cope with, so he shuts him out. Then we have Rex, a young man at the forefront of his life, but not only isolated from his father, he feels he is unable to tell him about his sexuality so he feels completely alone. To compare, we then have Jamie who is confident in his self, in sexuality and is completely in love with Rex and cares deeply for him. For me, Crossroads is a story that shows two main powerful emotions. Love and Grief.
Love is a powerful tool, and sometimes we react to situations negatively when we love someone, but at the forefront of this, I wanted the audience to understand that grief is just as powerful as love and sometimes it can cause huge complications in relationships, especially when dealing with grief.
As far as audience reaction is concerned, people will respond to the intentions behind the themes of choice and sexuality in different ways, which is exactly what I wanted. I wanted people to think “How can a dad think that way…?” “Why on earth would the son try and do this…?” “What sort of father would push his own son away…?” But it is these questions that people face every single day, and for me, it is the story and reason behind those questions that are most important. Crossroads isn’t just about the relationship between two gay men; it is the pressure, the feelings and the emotional reactions to losing someone you love and being in love with someone that might cause an intense reaction.
This is a film about acceptance, but what tells the story, primarily, is the relationship between father and son and coming to terms with their loss. The central idea behind Crossroads almost gets lost amongst the political and governmental climate of our times. “Emotions” and “Feelings” are senses that we all share and are part of a larger scale and can sometimes be very frustrating to the person and to the recipient but they are feelings nonetheless. Crossroads, I hope, will show these emotions that everyone feels when dealing with a situation. Grief, sadness, loneliness, love, hate, anger, shock, passion, lust… They are all emotions that Crossroads aim to highlight. I'm very proud of how far we have come with this film, and I truly hope it goes on to be as powerful as each and every one who worked on this film.
I'm very proud of how far we have come with this film, and I truly hope it goes on to be as powerful as each and every one who worked on this film.
As a director, sound and image are very important to me, they need to work together harmoniously to build up the emotionality of the characters’ lives and to help the audience feel what the characters are feeling. The scenes in Crossroads were emotionally difficult for both the actors and the crew, but it was so important for me that the audience saw real life people in real life situations. Homosexuality has been seen as one of the forefront concerns in regards to prejudice for many years and thankfully, the rise of LGBT campaigners especially via the media platform, including films, TV shows, music and social media websites has given people a platform to discuss their human rights.
In order to create a social change, I believe we need to re-establish who we are, where we come from and what we bring to the world. Cinema is a strong method of communication and it has the power to create change and help allow people to see the real human condition at its rawest.
When casting, I made it the forefront of the casting breakdown that my actors should be able to feel their characters deep within themselves, I was very happy when my actors acted out their scenes because all I saw was raw emotion, in fact, one of my actors was so moved, he was brought to tears during his audition and it was then I knew they fully understood their characters.
The idea of Crossroads was one I very much wanted to bring to life for many years because it touches on so many areas that are so prominent in our world. As a heterosexual woman who has written and directed a film focusing on LGBTQ I am often asked why, as a straight woman, I made this sort of film, I can almost hear you asking that same question…
It wasn’t just about sexuality for me; it was also about people’s feelings to different scenarios. Adrian is dealing with the loss of his wife and he has taken this loss far worse than he could ever have imagined. He is a strong person, confident and hard-working yet he is now a fragment of that person, lost without his wife, so much so, anything to do with his wife, such as his son, is far too much to cope with, so he shuts him out. Then we have Rex, a young man at the forefront of his life, but not only isolated from his father, he feels he is unable to tell him about his sexuality so he feels completely alone. To compare, we then have Jamie who is confident in his self, in sexuality and is completely in love with Rex and cares deeply for him. For me, Crossroads is a story that shows two main powerful emotions. Love and Grief.
Love is a powerful tool, and sometimes we react to situations negatively when we love someone, but at the forefront of this, I wanted the audience to understand that grief is just as powerful as love and sometimes it can cause huge complications in relationships, especially when dealing with grief.
As far as audience reaction is concerned, people will respond to the intentions behind the themes of choice and sexuality in different ways, which is exactly what I wanted. I wanted people to think “How can a dad think that way…?” “Why on earth would the son try and do this…?” “What sort of father would push his own son away…?” But it is these questions that people face every single day, and for me, it is the story and reason behind those questions that are most important. Crossroads isn’t just about the relationship between two gay men; it is the pressure, the feelings and the emotional reactions to losing someone you love and being in love with someone that might cause an intense reaction.
This is a film about acceptance, but what tells the story, primarily, is the relationship between father and son and coming to terms with their loss. The central idea behind Crossroads almost gets lost amongst the political and governmental climate of our times. “Emotions” and “Feelings” are senses that we all share and are part of a larger scale and can sometimes be very frustrating to the person and to the recipient but they are feelings nonetheless. Crossroads, I hope, will show these emotions that everyone feels when dealing with a situation. Grief, sadness, loneliness, love, hate, anger, shock, passion, lust… They are all emotions that Crossroads aim to highlight. I'm very proud of how far we have come with this film, and I truly hope it goes on to be as powerful as each and every one who worked on this film.
I'm very proud of how far we have come with this film, and I truly hope it goes on to be as powerful as each and every one who worked on this film.