BBFF2023 Meet the Filmmaker: Andrew Shaw

Boy/Beast

The darkness at the edge of a boy’s play threatens to turn him into a beast. ‘Boy/Beast’ delves into the challenging phase in boys' lives when they vigorously test limits to establish their identity. It's a narrative of a boy's anger driving him to discover his voice at any expense, uncovering the hidden grief it shields — a feminine perspective on masculinity at its core.

We spoke to director, Andrew Shaw, about the process of making this complex and raw short film.

Screening at the World Premiere of ‘Kaugere: A Place Where No-body Enters’ at Palace Cinemas Byron Bay

• Saturday 28th October at 3:00pm

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How did you come to discover the story in your film?

I started writing the film as I had just lost a close friend to suicide. I was trying to put my experience of grief into words, and I found myself writing about the transition from boys to men, and how there is no guidance in that. We're left to figure it out on our own and from what I have seen, it is not successful for a lot of us.

Can you tell us a bit about your film and what inspired you to create it?

The film is a feminine view of masculinity, it explores the idea that underneath the archetypal rage and anger in men is a wellspring of grief. We just don’t know how to handle or talk about it, so we don’t. The rage, anger and violence continues. The film is about this violence and the grief underpinning it.

Have you always wanted to be a filmmaker?

I was a professional rugby union player during my 20s before that all came tumbling down. I found acting to have the same presence of moment that a field with 50,000 people had, so I dove in at 27. Throughout COVID-19 I began writing and making films, working commercially as a director and producer, I used those connections to make my own films.

What elements or aspects of your filmmaking style can audiences expect to see in your film?

The way I shoot can be very dreamlike. I love to illicit water, the depths and the unknown. It’s always very very dark, my signature is speaking the unspoken truths I think.

Did you face any challenges when making or developing your film and if so how did you over come them?

We shot for two days and then went away and realised we had something more beautiful than what we had planned. We then added a day to lean into that side of the film and we let it turn into something else completely. The idea to have my mother on still terrifies me, but once that idea dropped in it was impossible to shake.

The theme of BBFF2023 is ‘Anything is possible’. How does your film align with this theme?

I watch men drop into oblivion day after day. Countless friends of mine. There is a way out. I’m living proof that anything is possible, and that no matter where someone is in their journey, there is always someone who has been there and has made it out. ‘Boy/Beast’ is about a boy dying to become a man. If anything is possible then boys can become men.

What message or emotions do you hope your film conveys to the audience?

I'm looking to pierce into that collective grief with this film. It plays on the mother - son relationship since there is such deep emotions around that subject. The mother must let the boy go for him to become a man. It'll make people sad, but ultimately I hope it brings boys and their mothers to realise we all need to let go.

What are you most looking forward to in terms of audience reactions and engagement during your screening?

Any time anything of mine is shown it makes my palms sweaty because I do give a lot of myself in my films. They're very personal. So hopefully the audience can find a word or a phrase or a feeling that they can relate to.

What advice would you offer to aspiring filmmakers to help them get their films recognised and selected by festivals like BBFF?

I feel every filmmaker finds their own way. Each path is different. I would hesitate on giving advice, as I will probably be working for them one day.

“I am so grateful for the three boys who carried the above with effortless unselfconsciousness, and for the family of a crew who believed in this crazy vision as it unfolded and helped capture these truly intimate moments.

I hope this film speaks to those boys in all of us.”

- Andrew Shaw