Hund is the story of a seven-year-old boy called Jake, confronted with his parents’ divorce and its heart-breaking consequences. As he and his mum move out of their family home, Jake is paralyzed by his anxiety-induced Selective Mutism. In a desperate search for stability and comfort, he clings to his dog Barley. Seeking solace in the inextricable, unspoken link that exists between children and their pets, Jake tries to shut out the world, even as it collapses around him. Driven by childish hope and desperation, he attempts to avert the inescapable.
The team behind the film is working to support the objectives of charities such as the Selective Mutism Information and Research Association (SMiRA), helping them raise awareness around children’s mental health, anxiety, and Selective Mutism. We caught up with the film’s writer and director MaxinEvans to discuss the film, 4Quarter Films, and more.
Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. Firstly, for readers who are unfamiliar with you and your work, how did you get into filmmaking?
My interest in filmmaking actually started very late, not until I was about 17. Growing up we didn’t watch a lot of films or TV, so my exposure was quite limited. I was, however, a voracious reader and enthralled by stories and storytelling. I loved make-believe and wanted to be an author or an actor (much to my parent’s “delight”). It wasn’t until I was older and realized that I was atrocious at acting that my focus shifted towards directing. I was still writing and the added ability to tell stories in a multi-sensory way is what fascinated and drew me the most to film. I went on to do a Bachelor in Film and Journalism, followed by an MA in Directing at film school. I’ve been working freelance in the industry ever since. The most important aspects to remember when going into this field are to a) remember what it is you loved about it, b) never compare your progress to others and c) to remind yourself that it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
You’re a Co-Founder of 4 Quarter films. Can you tell us more about the company and its objectives?
4Quarter Films was started by myself and three friends that I’d met at film school. Having all left and worked in the industry for a year or so we soon realized that the expectation, that you have in film school, that everybody is waiting for you, is false and that the only way to be (in our case) directors is to direct. Further, it’s almost impossible to be taken seriously or get through the door, not to mention incredibly demoralizing, when you’re doing it by yourself. Strength really does lie in numbers and so we decided to start our own production company, to find and make our own work. As well as corporate/advertising work we also worked on our narrative projects and in 2018 released Dreaming Whilst Black, a 9 part web series. It went on to win 36 international awards and becoming the UK’s most decorated web series ever. Lately, the series has been picked up by a major broadcaster here in the UK and we actually just delivered the pilot episode this month. More recently I also co-founded Mash House Media, which is a production company focused purely on corporate and advertising work. It’s important to try and establish as many streams of income, whilst still chasing the dream.
What do you look for when considering a project?
It’s funny, before the pandemic hit I would’ve answered that I would (and did) take any project, regardless of what it was. Because you work freelance you’re always worried about where the next job, the next paycheck is coming from. But since being forced to slow down during the pandemic and taking the opportunity to reevaluate my approach and my career path, I’ve become much more careful in selecting projects – especially when it comes to narrative/fiction work. But even with corporate work we’ve taken a different approach at Mash House Media, we actually want to work with people and companies that excite us, with whom we want to go on this journey together. With my narrative work, it’s much more about finding stories with which I can connect and that I feel are important and have something to say, something to add.
Hund tells the story of a young boy suffering from Selective Mutism (an anxiety disorder) Can you share with us what attracted you to the story?
Hund is based on my own personal experience, on the day that my parents divorced (I was 5). As my mum, two brothers and I were about to leave we had to leave my dog behind. The dog with whom I’d grown up, had learned to walk with by holding myself up against her. I felt completely helpless and unable to communicate. I knew that something fundamental was shifting and changing in my life, in a negative way, but was unable to comprehend it and desperately wanted my dog, my safe rock. Selective Mutism is an anxiety condition in which children, in highly stressful or uncomfortable situations, are physically unable to speak. Films very rarely, if ever, show divorce through the eyes of a child, children are left without a voice in this sense. And that’s exactly what we want to do with this film. We want to show what it’s like for children going through a divorce or suffering from Selective Mutism – we want to give them a voice.
You’re working closely with the Selective Mutism community, with the Selective Mutism Information and Research Association (SMiRA) as your official partners. Can you tell us more about the support received for the project?
Very early on in the scriptwriting process, I knew that it was important that we reach out and start communicating with the SM community. Not only because they’d be able to give me insights and experience, which I’d be unable to come up with by me, but, more importantly, to make sure that what we were going to say and depict about SM was accurate and truthful. Whenever you take on a project that deals with a subject matter, with which people have to deal with every day, you take on a responsibility to represent them. Filmmakers who push ahead without consulting or listening to those they’re depicting can cause real damage. What’s more, having taken the time and effort to speak to and engage with the community has made the entire project and experience richer and more fulfilling. We’ve spoken to health professionals, teachers, parents, and most importantly children who’re affected by it, who’ve given us insights that we could never have dreamt of. At the same time, it’s also important that you, as the storyteller, manage to strike the balance between what it is that you want to say and the input you’re getting. Being truthful applies to both the subject matter, but also to your story.
How has the pandemic impacted the projects?
In a weird sense, the pandemic has been somewhat of a blessing for the project. Because of the forced hiatus (we were already casting when it hit) we had to take a step back and reevaluate how we were going to do things. We lost a big investor and suddenly had to look at other ways to raise the money, something that we suddenly had enough time to figure out. It also meant that we could widen and deepen our relationship with the SM community, which meant that the project developed and changed for the better. My producer and I were also able to get our Co-Producer, who has a background in marketing, onboard, and together we developed and designed our outreach for the film in the lead-up to our crowdfunding campaign. So whilst it’s been frustrating in some regards it has mainly been positive and I’m of the conviction that in the end it was meant to be this way and will have made the project stronger.
What is the film’s scheduled release?
Whilst it’s hard to give an exact date, due to the nature of crowdfunding/finance and Covid, I hope that we’ll be able to shoot in late summer and that the film will be finished in early to mid-autumn. From there it will be available to the backers of our campaign and then also on the festival circuit. Whilst it may sound silly or even arrogant, but mine and the teams’ goal has always been to get the film nominated for a BAFTA. Speak it into existence, cross your fingers and do the work – who knows.
Where can readers find out more about you?
You can find out more about the project and/or me here:
- https://greenlit.com/project/hund
- https://www.facebook.com/hundashortfilm
- https://www.instagram.com/mpa_evans/
We wish Max and the team the very best with the project!
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