“Ride is a film about humanity, love and resilience. I find both Sam and Alise to be extraordinary people. Their story is extraordinary.”

Interview by Matthew Eeles

I understand you’ve only just put the finishing touches on Ride to get it ready in time for Adelaide Film Festival. How was the production process been for your team considering it was shot during Covid?
Well, it was interesting to be honest. Ride was a Covid film to start with, so it was problematic at times. When we first started talking about the project and putting it together, we were in the midst of Covid. Both Sam and Alise live in San Diego, and so it was virtually impossible to start the film because of the borders. We couldn’t travel, all those sorts of things. We spent a lot of time talking with each other, virtually as as you do. [Laughs]. I conceptualised the narrative and passed it by them. We discussed what form the film would take, and then we were very patient, really, because we had to wait for the boarders to open. We were lucky enough to get Sam and Alise over here in February of this year, and that’s really when production kicked off. So we really didn’t start shooting until February this year. We did a bit here, then we started cutting, and then I went back over to San Diegona couple of months ago. We did a bit more filming, then came back and finished the film. So it’s been quite compressed really. The intent was to start much earlier that we did. [Laughs].

That’s a tight turnaround for film. Does your ability to turnover a film so quickly come from your experience working in television?
Oh, yes. I’m quite used to it to be honest. There is a lot of footage out there from Sam and Alise’s journey and that gave us an opportunity to actually filter through a lot of the archival video material to help create the film’s narrative. That really worked in our favour. We were able to shoot our story then work with all the archive material and start building a narrative around what we had.

Do you have an interest in BMX in general?
Look, honestly, no. Not to start with. I now do have an interest in BMX. [Laughs]. Obviously I touched upon it when I was younger as most people do when they’re kids. I was a music kid, so I was into bands and that sort of thing. A lot of my friends were into BMX at a young age. But that was really my experience. BMX is a mechanism for this story. As you’ll know, Ride is not a BMX film. It’s a film about humanity, love and resilience. It’s those things that really got me involved in this film. I find both Sam and Alise to be extraordinary people. Their story is extraordinary. Ride is about the human spirit.

How did you come on board Ride?
William Ward, the producer of Ride, has a brother, James, who used to work for a sports management company. He had a very long relationship with Sam prior to his accident. He also then helped Sam post his accident to fundraise and to help him move on with his life. James had been speaking with William, and William had spoken to me, and we talked about the idea for the film a lot. We knew this is a film that had to be made. Sam’s story is one that needs to be told. There’s been a lot of news stories on Sam and his predicament. But really we thought this was a broader story that needed to be told. And so we started discussions and waited for the world to move on from Covid so we could kick it all into action.

What was your first impressions of Sam and Alise when you first met them, and how much did that first impression change by the end of the shoot?
That’s a very good question. I think what affected me the most through the whole process is how authentic they are. They are genuine people. What you see is what you get. And that relates not only to Sam and Alise, but to their families, and the people around them. There is no pretence. There is no affectation. They are truly, genuinely good people. I would hope that that comes through in the film. That is something that hasn’t changed since the first day I met them to now. I hope that also resonates with an audience, because there is no affectation. These are real people confronting extraordinary circumstances and how they deal with them.

Alise Willoughby.

I watched the film with my 8 year old son, and once it finished I asked him what he took away from the film. He replied, “If you break your bones, it’s not the end of the world.” What did you take away from your time with this family? Did it change your perspective on any part of your life?
Isn’t that beautiful? Out of the mouths of babes. [Laughs]. Working on a story like this can’t not change your perspective on life. I think you examine the things you are dealing with, and it gives you a different lens to look at how you respond to the problems in your life and the difficulties. I also feel that in these uncertain times we’re currently coming out of that people are fragile, so it’s nice to see this resilience of the human spirit within Ride. Also what I really took away from this experience is how selfless these two people are. That’s one of the reasons I think we all wanted to make this film to take it to a broader audience and say, “You may be confronted by terrible, awful things, but If you view those experiences through a different lens, you can look at these problems and difficulties and you can find a way through.”

At the end of the film we get to see bits from the Sam Willoughby BMX Track. Can you elaborate a bit more on the community that that track has created?
What’s really wonderful is that the track is literally about 900 meters from Sam’s childhood home. So it used to be bushland where the tracks are now. Sam and his brother would ride every afternoon. This track has been built there and it’s impeccable. It’s of an international standard. It will actually attract world class competitions to the area. There is that sense there that it is literally in the backyard where Sam Willoughby grew up, where he started all of this, which is just wonderful. What I’ve learned is that the BMX community in South Australia is a really strong, friendly, tight knit community. This track has given that community a focus. I think they had a few different clubs all around the place and this has now giving those clubs an opportunity to come together and to have somewhere where they can actually broaden the community in as a whole.

One of my biggest frustrations about living in the suburbs is that whenever there’s an announcement of a new skate park or BMX track, there’s always a number of people determined to put a stop to it. But when you watch films like this and you see the kind of community that these parks and tracks create, it proves how worth it they are. 
I think you’re absolutely right. I think one thing I did learn about the BMX community is it’s so family orientated. There is a great sense of community. People have this misconception that it’s a bunch of rat bag kids riding around causing trouble. It really is about family and the support that these families give these kids. The sense of community is truly outstanding.

I think that’s another wonderful subtext to Ride.
It really is. 

Will Sam and Alise be attending the Adelaide premiere?
Yes. They’re all in Adelaide. Sam’s brother and his parents are in Adelaide, and Sam’s extended family is still in Adelaide. They will all come. Alise is coming out as well. I don’t think her dad can make it, which is unfortunate, but it’d be wonderful to see Mark there. I think it’s going to be a really lovely moment at the premiere to have everybody there who have known Sam since day one and to see this all come full circle, which is something that I saw at the track opening as well.

What are the plans for the future release of Ride?
We’re in discussions now regarding distribution. Then there’s the ABC release which will be on November 20. ABC and iView. We’re in the throws now of negotiating an international release for the film. We’ll try and put it out there to festivals. Hopefully Adelaide is the first of many film festivals. I really want to get the film to as many people as possible.

Ride will screen at Adelaide Film Festival on Thursday, 27 October at 6.30pm. Details here.

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