On the Road with The Dempseys' New Short Film

Knucklehead directing duo, The Dempseys [Ben, above left and Joe, above right], have just released this beautiful short film, One Way to Osaka, which follows a young Japanese girl as she winds her way across Japan to find her way home. 

Below, the brothers explain the reasons for making the film, what they wanted to achieve and why side-projects are so important to their creativity.

Where did the idea for the film come from and do you have a special affinity with Japan?

Ben: Joe’s wife is Japanese, and a year or so ago he was planning a trip back to Osaka to visit family. At the time, we discussed how despite having been there on numerous occasions, we had never really taken full advantage of filming within such an interesting place. On this occasion it felt that if we didn't, it would be a missed opportunity, or just plain negligent… so the personal pressure was on!

Who is the little girl in the film and where did you find her?

Ben: The question was - what to shoot? We didn't want to just go around filming travelogue reportage stuff. As beautiful as that would look, we needed a subject, a point of focus and story to follow. The fact of the matter was Joe’s four year old daughter, Yoko, would be traveling with him and his wife, so why not make use of that reality in some way.

However, to avoid this falling into becoming some kind of family holiday video, we came up with a simple narrative thread that centred around Yoko as a little girl travelling alone across Japan to find her way home to her grandparents. Simple really.

What are you trying to say with One Way to Osaka?

Joe: The focus of the film was not really about setting out to say something in particular, it simply stemmed from the desire to make something for us, and for the sheer enjoyment of it.

With the whole process revolving around a young child, it had to be very spontaneous and eclectic. So what started out as ‘let's just see what we get... as this is meant to be a New-Year’s family holiday after all', soon became a bit of an obsession.

How long did it take to shoot?

Ben: Round every corner there was something great to be had, which resulted in the momentum growing and shooting for 10 days. The camera was always at hand, as was Yoko's little jacket and backpack.

So it was a case of sometimes observing her completely unaware and naturally, and other times involving a little more steering with the help of a few treats in the pocket, and the support of a very patient wife who was planted on the other side of busy crossings, or amidst the flow of passersby. It was intriguing to try and capture the wonder and bewilderment of the streets of Japan seen through the eyes of a small child. 

As Yoko’s stamina developed, we were able to venture more off-piste, which resulted in shooting the cold night sequences to capture an innocent child’s sense of peril and feeling lost in the big city. These authentic moments became quite poignant material for the narrative, and in the end helped strengthen the sense of reward and family belonging as she finally finds home.

Was putting the film together in the editing room an easy process?

Joe: Returning to the UK with a wealth of material we had the exciting challenge to find the right way to tell the story, which we knew was going to take time. Because of this we decided to edit the film ourselves. This gave us the freedom to really explore the material, and experiment in finding a less conventional way to tell the story, as we wanted to avoid it becoming too literal. 

As part of this process, music became a key ingredient in helping capture the experience of the journey. So we turned to the talents of Dan Berridge (aka Broadway Project) whom we commissioned to score the film.

How important are side-projects like this to you?

Ben: As we know, directing TV commercials can sometimes be very creatively rewarding, and at other times can become potentially frustrating if the end results get steered away from what was originally set out to be achieved. 

We find that investing time, effort and money into personal projects is becoming more and more key, as they provide other ways to give vent to ideas that are outside the box. Alongside finishing this project we've recently completed a short film for the composer Ludovico Einaudi which we look forward to sharing soon.