In depth with the director - Daniel Perez

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background in filmmaking.
My background is in commercial filmmaking. I started as a creative and ended up directing my own scripts.

How did your film first come together as a project?
Archibald's Syndrome was born out of an idea for an advertising concept when I was working for an international fast food brand. As a publicist, you write hundreds of scripts that will never be bought by the client. The idea of someone imposing the movement of his arms on others was one of the many concepts, never sold, that I found interesting. So I decided to develop it into a real story.

Tom Hudson and Jade Henot have such a great dynamic in the film. How did you build this relationship on screen so effectively?
The chemistry between Tom and Jade works very well on screen because it also works very well in reality. Tom and Jade have personalities that are very close to their characters. There were many rehearsals before the shooting. But the dynamics of the relationship made of otherness and complicity already existed.

The colour palette is particularly vivid and really brings out the landscape in the film. How did you go about designing the aesthetic of the film?
I wanted a very cinematic aesthetic. I wanted to get closer to the standards of the American Roadtrip movies. Archibald's Syndrome is also a comedy, a fantasy tale, so I needed a light and colorful atmosphere. Coming from an advertising background, I also place a lot of importance on the overall art direction of the film.

What was the biggest challenge in making this film?
The biggest narrative challenge was to write a 20-minute story that tells not only the meeting of the two main characters but also the life of Archibald before this moment. And the biggest visual challenge was of course the coordination and choreography of the actors' gestures.

What projects are coming next for you in the future?
I just finished writing a feature film. I am now starting the long and painful journey of looking for financing.

Any message for our Melbourne audience?
I hope you will enjoy watching my film as much as I enjoyed writing and directing it.