One Day This Kid Will

Alex, thank you for taking the time to sit down with us! Let’s start from the beginning. What inspired you to create this film? Was there a specific event or story that sparked the idea?

Alexander Farah, Director, Photographed by Brian Van Wyk at the Filmable Portrait Studio

Alexander Farah (AF): Six years ago, I stumbled upon David Wojnarowicz's 1990 artwork "Untitled (One Day This Kid...)" online — a photo-text collage that tells the gutting lifetime story of a gay boy growing up in a society that does not want him. It took me by surprise and really stayed with me. I felt encouraged to develop this into something audiovisual, with the intention of implementing the text as a voiceover.

I wanted to use this beloved and universal queer text as a vehicle to explore my specific memories and experiences about growing up and coming into my queerness, as an Afghan-Canadian man. I found that as I dug deeper and deeper into the project, my script started to distance itself from Wojnarowicz’s exact text, as my story began to stand on its own two feet.

That sounds incredibly powerful. Can you describe your process for writing the script? How did you approach the story structure and dialogue?

Alexander Farah, Director, One Day This Kid

(AF): I had initially used the Wojnarowicz’ text that inspired the film, as a voiceover for each scene. As the film began to expand and the scenes grew to include more beats, I felt that voiceover was crowding the film too much, and teetering a little heavy on melodrama (which isn’t always a problem, but in this case, slightly tipped the scale).

The story began to feel like a fragmented recollection of moments. Moments that stirred strong feelings of curiosity, discovery and acceptance — all as they related to the genesis of (and progression) of a young person’s otherness.

I mean… if there’s ever a process to writing, that’s the one you want. So intentional! How did you develop the characters in the film out of that process?

AF: I adopt a very ‘write-what-you-know’ approach to writing. Soon, that will change. But for the most part, I based the characters on myself and the people around me. In some cases, a character is a mix of two (or several) people I knew or remembered.

And with such a personal connection to the characters, how did you go about casting the actors for your film? Were there any specific qualities you were looking for in the actors?

AF: I had worked with a few casting directors to support the film, but after a few weeks of assessing the turnout of submissions, we all began to understand the limitations of casting through professional services.

My producer Joaquin Cardoner, and director of photography, Farhad Ghaderi, took to the beach one evening during Vancouver’s summer fireworks. We had made flyers to distribute to all sorts of people, casting for lead and supporting roles. To me, the idea of approaching people sounded easy and harmless. But as we began handing them out, I started to confront how truly challenging it was going to be to find 1) have the nerve to approach people, 2) find suitable candidates and 3) find suitable candidates that would actually be comfortable on camera, let alone have any sort of performing experience. On another occasion, I drove out to Surrey, Burnaby and New Westminster, distributing flyers at bus loops, recreational centres and even tried a mosque. We had a few bites from this approach, but unfortunately not for any of the lead or speaking roles.

Our young child lead was the most serendipitous discovery: I recalled an Afghan girl who was in my third grade class. We reconnected over Facebook after two decades of not seeing each other, and went out for coffee. I expressed my casting woes to her and she told me she had a six year-old nephew who could be a decent fit. Fast forward about two months, and I ended up casting her charming nephew Elyas and his sister Tahera and their mother Roohafza — all to play the family in the film.

I feel like the casting of this project could be a short film. That’s amazing! Do you have a favourite scene or moment in the film?

AF: The ending of the film is something that I feel very close to. It was always emotional to write, shoot, and pull together in the edit. Watching it back is a strong reminder of the moment my film started to take on its own life, aside from the Wojnarowicz’ piece it was inspired by.

My other 'honourable mention' moment is the club scene. So much great footage ended up on the cutting room floor. I brought together a handful of my closest friends in the queer community here in Vancouver, who all arrived dressed to perfection. I also had the best time curating a playlist of tracks for everyone to step to.

That moment of seeing the film emerge from the months of toil must be highly satisfying. It takes strong vision and empathetic leadership to get there. How would you describe your directing style?

AF: I make sure to carve out a lot of time ahead of production, to work through any challenges that might arise on-set. Most of the pre-production time was dedicated to the children. We spent many hours in the Boldly studios, playing improvisational games, dancing, and talking about the scenes. I hadn’t worked with talent this young before and so we recruited the wonderful child acting coach, Athena Russell, to help me understand the immediate demands of working closely with first-time child actors.

For the other cast members, I made sure to designate enough time ahead of the shoot as well, to be able to discuss the film on a more intimate level. I always appreciate having the time to express my interests and desires to make the film — sharing where the story originated, and getting to hear the actors speak about their connection with the material. I feel as this bond provides an ample foundation through which we stay connected and vulnerable through the shoot, while exploring the opportunity to play around on set.

I’m especially grateful to my producer and head-of-departments who understand how I prefer to work, and collaborate with me to protect this time in prep.

Having those key collaborators is so crucial! Which filmmakers or films have influenced your work the most?

AF: For this project specifically, I felt influenced by films like We The Animals, Moonlight, Aftersun and No Hard Feelings. Though in general, I’m always inspired by directors Asghar Farhadi and Sean Baker. While both create very tonally different films, there is an undeniable mastery with their writing and the performances they get from their cast that always leave me engaged, curious and moved.

Is there a specific aspect of the film that you are really excited about and would like to speak more to?

AF: I’m proud to take a small step in the exposure of queer Middle Eastern men; it gets said time and time again, but if I had a film like this to turn to and reference during my adolescence, I imagine I would’ve felt a lot less alone and hopeless about the world and where I belong within it.

We hope this film finds its way to those who need it! What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during the production of this film?

AF: I can hardly scratch the surface… For it is I, who had the genius idea of writing three decades into a *short* film, across 20+ locations, with a cast that includes children, Farsi and Dari-speaking adults, and many extras… all on 35mm film. The project was riddled with logistical challenges from the get.

Though to answer the question, I would say casting was the biggest hurdle. We had to postpone the shoot twice, because of the difficulties in finding cast. Unfortunately, queer and Middle Eastern are enough, together, to make a considerable number of people turn their heads.

So on that note, what is the most important lesson you've learned from making this film?

AF: On a fundamental level, I’ve learned that I have the skills and capacity to pull off writing, directing and editing an ambitious project of this size and scope.

My more down-to-earth lesson might be… choose your battles and keep it simple. My first short film Sahar was very, very simple - made with my barista savings, a few cast members, and shot in my family home. One Day This Kid was the complete opposite. Now that I came, I saw and I conquered - in retrospect, I could be more calculated and careful about slimming down my ideas to be simpler and more readily manageable.

Amen! There’s really only one way to find out, and that’s just to do it. How do you think you've evolved as a filmmaker over the years, and how has your approach changed since your first project?

AF: I think through editing a variety of different projects, I’ve begun to better understand my taste and my sensibilities. I think I am constantly in search of a sophisticated tone that is both intellectual but also emotional - a tough line to teeter. Throughout the years as well, I've developed a stronger understanding of what’s possible, within different film budget brackets.

What are you working on next? Are there any upcoming projects you're excited about?

AF: I’m working on developing a feature length script that might possibly overlap with the adult portion of One Day This Kid. In the more immediate future however, I’ve lined up a few short narrative and commercial projects I’m editing for other filmmakers. I currently make a living as an editor!

We look forward to seeing the feature! Let’s turn the mic to your DOP, Farhad Ghaderi. Farhad, how did you develop the visual style for the film, and what influenced your choices?

Farhad Ghaderi, Director of Photography, One Day This Kid

Farhad Ghaderi (FG): The visual style for One Day This Kid was developed by Alex and I over the course of many months while discussing earlier iterations of the script, sharing photographs, texts, or films that inspired us, building a mood board ever so slowly. Alex and I have known each other for many years, and so we usually know where our taste compass is at a given time. We wanted to make something that felt mature: memorable but not flashy, poetic and yet simple, emotive and nuanced. We wanted a sense of softness and nostalgia to permeate the film, so shooting on film was important to us from the beginning. We were influenced by movies such as Aftersun, Blue Bayou, and We The Animals.

I daresay… you achieved it! How do you approach lighting design for different scenes?

Farhad Ghaderi, Director of Photography

FG: You first need to know what you want a scene or moment to feel like, and then you have to find the way to do it with the actual tools and time you have haha. With short films, your tool kit is limited, so trying to come up with the most simple and elegant approach is the way. Another thing I try to do is to light a space rather than a face or a moment, especially with non-actors, so they can just feel more comfortable without the artifice of filmmaking and make the space their own. Often I’ll have a very specific way I know a scene needs to be lit and with what, but many times I’ll rely on my gaffer and key grip to come up with a better approach, once they know what I want something to feel like.

Team work is dream work. It’s also telling that you consider the comfort of the actor when planning your lighting. What was the most difficult shot you had to capture for the film, and how did you achieve it?

FG: Not sure about a specific shot since they’re all interconnected within a scene, but the most difficult scene to shoot for me was the wave pool scene! We had no time, not enough sunlight, a tiny crew for such a huge location, not enough extras to fill the space, safety hazards such as the waves with children and non actors, limited shooting time with film, cameras that went down in the water, etc. And we nailed it. It was a miracle. We achieved it thanks to a lot of friends coming out to support, a fearless crew of legends, plus having to strip down our approach and wishlist and cut a couple of shots… and of course, that extra bit of film magic that I can’t explain.

The unexplainable extra bit of film magic, always rides to the rescue. Despite the many challenges throughout the film, how did you work with Alex to translate his vision into visual reality?

FG: Most of the heavy lifting is prep. We basically spent the entire summer together, so we really knew where each of us was at creatively. Because the film is composed of so many different scenes across time, we spent many weeks breaking down the script together until I knew every bit of it by heart. Many things didn’t even have to be said by the time we stepped on set.

Another thing that was important was to live certain elements of the film itself. For example, I spent a lot of time with the young kids and family before shooting, to establish trust but also to get to understand how to portray who they are in real life with care, but within the characters, or like we also went to Friday prayers together at local Mosques to understand which helped to portray the space and people with dignity, and we even went to a couple raves during Pride weekend, it was like method DPing haha. Once I was fully immersed in the world, the next thing was to understand how to create and put together the puzzle technically with the help of all the team of artisans and technicians.

Method DPing! Now that’s a new approach that clearly pays off. Thank you Farhad!

Adriana, production designer extraordinaire, can you describe your process for creating the visual environment of the film?

Adriana Marchand, Production Designer, One Day This Kid

Adriana Marchand (AM): I always take a very holistic, on the ground approach to collecting and sourcing prop and set pieces. This project was extra special due to the generosity of the Afghan and Iranian community. We had several amazing families lend us their personal items including beautiful carpets, art, and prayer pieces. We made sure every space and time period was imbued with an authenticity that reflected the importance of the characters becoming through their age and culture.

These authentic textures bring such life the film! How do you work with other departments, such as costume design and cinematography, to ensure a cohesive look?

AM: This was easy because of how talented and in sync everyone was on set. Alex and Farhad developed a very clear way of communicating their wants and needs, we had so much fun developing the spaces with them. It was inspiring to see the synergy between the teams, which lent to everyone’s incredible efforts and a beautiful film.

It’s all about that synergy. Especially when the going gets tough. What was the most challenging set you designed for the film, and how did you bring it to life?

Adriana Marchand, Production Designer

AM: Our Afghan/Persian family gathering by far! Carpets, mats, pillows, curtains, instruments, food, fish, kids, aunties, uncles, dancing, the list goes on. It was a challenge to transform and create this feast of a scene in a single sitting room, but when we flipped what was that beige Martha Stewart space into a bright warm living room, we activated it with so much love and life that it was unrecognizable. We had wonderful friends and family come and help us on the day and it truly felt like a real celebration.

Where do you find inspiration for your designs, and how do you incorporate it into your work?

AM: A lot of travel and growing up in a household of artists who hoard things. Studying theatre and art history help but it’s probably just the many year spent being dragged around antique stores and museums that gave me a quick eye that can recognize, organize and appreciate an vast array of aesthetics and cultures. I’m just very inspired and lucky to be guided by a very diverse family of talented creatives who comprise my community today.

What question do you wish we'd asked?

… favourite set piece.

the Usher poster and the Spice Girls VHS.

IYKYK, I guess? Over to you Shelby, as an Executive Producer what excited you about this film?

Shelby Manton, Executive Producer, One Day This Kid

Shelby Manton (SM): Personally, I’m a sucker for a powerful coming of age story that spans decades. One Day This Kid is that and so much more! Myself and my partners at Boldly also couldn’t pass up being involved in a project with this dream team. We’re long-time collaborators with and fans of Alexander Farah (Director), Joaquin Cardoner (Producer), and Farhad Ghaderi (DOP). Not to mention it felt like a good opportunity to test out a co-production with our good pals over at Wallop Film. We loved working with everyone on this film - they poured their hearts and souls into it and I’m proud to say that this is very evident on-screen.

Co-productions with good people make everything a little more possible. What was the development process like for this film?

SM: Myself and Boldly actually came into the project a bit later in the process this time around. Alexander, Joaquin, and Wallop got the ball rolling and worked hard to secure grant funding and investments from various sources. We helped round things out right before production started, after it wrapped, and were able to provide additional support that the project needed in our roles as EPs.

From your perspective, what would it take for the BC Independent Film Industry to thrive?

SM: A connected community. Independent production companies and producers working together to attract attention from international funders and distributors with our award-winning films and our collaborative approach.

Sounds like paradise on earth. Here’s to making it happen! How about you Martin, same question, as an EP what excited you about this project?

Martin Glegg, Executive Producer, One Day This Kid

Martin Glegg (MG): This isn't Wallop Film’s first collaboration with director Alexander Farah. We co-produced Meet You At the Light, which won an award at SXSW in 2022, so I had already experienced how seriously Alex takes his craft. In fact, I knew Alex possessed immense talent when we first met, and it's been a joy to help play a small part in his filmmaking journey. When Alex told me about this particular story back in 2021, I believed strongly that it could be a powerful piece of work. From there, we supported him in securing the initial seed funding.

You’ve got an eye for talent! How do you facilitate collaboration between different departments to ensure the smooth running of a production?

MG: My job is to oversee how both the creative and production elements of a project intertwine successfully. For me, it’s about sensing what stories will resonate and bringing the right people and partners together. My role also involves being open to serving the creative process through partnerships and collaborations outside of Wallop Film.

What was the development process like for this film?

MG: Once we had the seed funding, Alex also managed to secure funding from the Canadian Arts Council, which then led to further private investment from ourselves and a few other parties. Our partnership with BOLDLY was also key, as it allowed both companies to pool our resources, contacts, and knowledge in a way that definitely elevated the production. It’s been an amazing partnership and a great example of how local companies can work together to enhance work and ultimately share in its success.

Preach! More of that please. Can you share an example of a significant challenge you faced during production and how you resolved it?

MG: We wanted to help Alex build a story that felt both intimate and expansive. Securing difficult and exclusive locations was a significant part of telling a deeply private story within a larger, more complex world. Ultimately, credit goes to Joaquin Cardoner and the entire producing team for overcoming that challenge by gaining access to locations that revealed those complexities. They weren’t easy to secure, but they undoubtedly play a key role in making the film unique.

Joaquin is a force to be reckoned with! As a BC producer, what was your experience raising funds for this project?

MG: Raising capital for a short film isn't easy, and we tried many public and private funding routes that didn’t come through. It’s about not giving up; we believed in the story and the team, and in the end, we received backing from some key funding partners. We also recognize that this film was only possible because the cast and crew went above and beyond. Everything was directed towards the frame, and that commitment to the story is ultimately what shines through in this project.

It takes that perfect blend of funding and passion to make a film like this. The love for this film shines through beautifully. From your perspective, what would it take for the BC independent film industry to thrive?

MG: This is an important question and it comes down to making stories that resonate with global audiences. We have world-class filmmaking talent here in BC, but we won’t attract major investment if our stories don’t resonate outside our province. My goal is to help the talent on our doorstep connect with wider audiences, which I believe is key to helping the community thrive. How to make this economically sustainable is something I’m still working out.

We hope you crack that code! And rumour has it there are three films Wallop supported playing at VIFF?

MG: Yes, we have three films playing at VIFF, including ODTK. It has been a long road to get here, but our presence in the community and our nurturing of strong partnerships and creative teams behind these story ideas played a big part in it. I hope anyone reading this realizes that collaboration, if fully embraced and honored, is a very powerful tool.

Bravo! Enjoy the festival and the well-deserved recognition!

Alex, let’s finish things off coming back to you, but this time with your editing hat on. How did you approach the storytelling aspect of editing?

Alexander Farah, Director

Alexander Farah (AF): As the nature of the film unfolds in vignettes, there were opportunities to reshuffle the scenes to create a stronger character arcs in each act. I wanted to be open to playing with the chronology of the film, and spent a considerable amount of time exploring that before ultimately returning to the script as the blueprint.

How did you determine the pacing of the film, and what factors influence your decisions?

AF: My first cut of the film was nearly 25 minutes long. I took an almost two month break from editing to return to the project with fresh eyes. I felt the length was too long for the story being told. I wanted to take a more fragmented approach to the film, as the film depicts this expedited lifetime of a young man. The faster I could appropriately cruise through the film, the longer I could preserve on punctuating the end of the film, where I sought to build the most emotional resonance.

It really is an iterative process, and we admire your perseverance. What is the most challenging aspect of the editing process, and how do you handle it?

AF: Editing something so personal that I also wrote and directed was the biggest challenge in post-production. The objectivity is always, always, always the most challenging part. Plus, the loneliness of it all, especially after how busy it was in prep and production, can start to weigh on you as the months go on.