Jamie Travis is quite an accomplished short filmmaker.  His shorts – focusing on children and the angst of being ‘different’ – usually embrace a darker formalist aesthetic.  Think Todd Solondz by way of Wes Anderson. (For a full sampling of his shorts work – click here) Which is why his first foray into features is so striking – For A Good Time, Call… eschews those darker formalist tendencies, in favor of a much lighter, brighter, almost bubble-gum like aesthetic.  It’s a film that instead of focusing on the loneliness of children or outcasts instead concentrates on the burgeoning friendship of two twenty-something single ladies.  It’s an interesting departure for the director, not so much in terms of length, but more so content and theme.

In the following interview, Travis discusses the difficulties (or lack thereof) of shifting from short films to a feature, adapting his formalist style to the heightened realism of For A Good Time Call… and his hopes to balance his darker indie sensibilities with more mainstream fare in the future.  For the full interview, hit the jump.

Jamie Travis:

  • 00:00 – Jamie Travis on how he got involved in For A Good Time, Call…
  • 00:48 – On directing a film he didn’t write
  • 01:40 – On shifting from directing short films to a feature
  • 02:20 – On adapting his more formalist style to the heightened reality of For A Good Time, Call…
  • 03:15 – On what film’s he’s working on now (hopefully a balance between mainstream fare and his darker comedic indie instincts)

*Of Travis’s short work – I was particularly taken with The Saddest Boy in The World and The Armoire.  Both are well worth your hypothetical time.  In the interest of objectivity, I must admit I was far less impressed with his Patterns shorts.

for a good time call poster