“I was very influenced by Julio Cortazar’s book Autonauts of the Cosmoroute: a book which begins with a dedication to ‘all the world’s nutcases and especially to the English gentleman who in the eighteenth century walked backwards from London to Edinburgh singing Anabaptist hymns.’ “
So says Gary McQuiggin, director of the delightfully eccentric short film, HITCHING THE A1. In just under 15 minutes, his film captures a sense of the endearing peculiarities and loveable idiosyncrasies of a nation, through its affectionate portrait of the assorted characters the director and his companion meet on their modern-day pilgrimage along the A1.
The film’s inspired and skilfully crafted concoction of styles mixes the everyday with inter-cut visual effects, but also allows time to stop and admire a beautifully composed and contemplative landscape. “I was influenced by Andrew Kötting; GALLIVANT is my favourite film of all time”, says the director. “I studied Film and Video in London and became interested in documentary, experimental film and the interstices between the two. The plan was always to have a mixture of styles and tones. I really wanted to throw myself into the film so that it wouldn’t be just a film about hitchhiking or a film about the A1 but about someone’s personal journey hitching up the A1.”
… matter-of-fact yet meditative, an ordinary journey which is curiously extraordinary.
Why the A1 in particular? “At around the time of making the film my dad and I both separately moved to places served by the A1 trunk road – him to Newcastle, me to Welwyn Garden City . My initial thought was to make a film about the road, (the longest in Britain) that connected me with my dad and about how the road connects many people with each other. The film was going to be explicitly about the A1 itself; its history, peoples’ relationship to it and eventually my own relationship to it. From the start I wanted there to be a strong personal element. However it was my friend Onyeka who suggested that I should hitch the A1. I liked the idea and took her along with me. My dad also makes an appearance in the film.”
How did he approach the filming and persuade people to open up in front of the camera? “People who picked us up were very happy to talk to us, I think the vast majority of them just wanted someone to chat to while they were driving! We were asked a few times what we would have done if someone had refused to be filmed, the answer was that we would have gotten out and waited for another driver!”
The music score is also very effective. “I recorded most of the music myself on my Korg MS2000 synthesiser”.
HITCHING THE A1 is a film of perfectly matched contrasts: vivid, funny, matter-of-fact yet meditative, an ordinary journey which is curiously extraordinary. “The film has been well received; as far as I can tell people seem to like it.” I think Cambridge will like it too.
HITCHING THE A1 screens on the 20th September at 11am as part of the Existential Shorts programme. Book tickets here.
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