The Devil May Care trilogy is the brainchild of rising local Brisbane filmmaker Jonathan Creed, who describes himself as a lover of creating intense stories that tended to get him in trouble during his school days.
His passion for film began from watching movies with his father and cemented when he worked with local actor Chris Bridgewater, who encouraged him to take his story ideas and create a short film. “It was all very accidental but that’s the kind of magic that lured me in,” Jonathan said. “I’ve loved films my whole life, when I was a kid it was some of the only time I’d get to spend with my Dad and there’s nothing better than a movie that really entertains you but as a secondary makes you genuinely ask questions about reality. It was only through fateful cock up and a happy accident I made friends with someone who would later give me a shot.”
Devil May Care originally started as a portfolio project for his friend who was interested in acting but once it was completed, he felt like there was more there. He believed there was more to the story or a better way to tell it and soon it became his next bring project. “The problem was though, short films- for the most part- are very forgettable almost simply because they’re short films. So after getting wasted and talking to my housemate about the idea and analysing rule-breaking filmmakers from the 20th century, I decided to make it into a trilogy of short films, shot back all at once and make them all a different genre. Not only that, I’d hide clues to unanswered questions through the movie and force any audience member who wanted closure to really reflect and potentially watch it again for answers- which thankfully happened on a second watch.”
The project’s success came from trusting his own decision making and taking risks. Some of the actors and crew were old friends that he had worked with before, but a majority of them were hired. “We had a mostly closed casting call where I personally selected actors, almost on as little as a selfie, because I decided to trust my instincts and I honestly think it paid off in spades. I was punching well above my weight with some of the people who came on board thanks to my producer, Angel, and the other cast and crew members so the opportunity was there to earn it.”
Jonathan does not believe in rules and restrictions in filmmaking, something he believes stopped him from going to film school. “The great part about expressing yourself through film is there’s almost an infinite number of ways to show your individual voice using the pillars of filmmaking. I don’t think I’ve developed my style of vision enough to say with any honesty or certainty how I differ from other local filmmakers other than I’m interested above everything to explore the human condition and articulate it on screen as accurately and profoundly as possible whilst conducting myself as a director in a way that compels people to work with me. Hopefully, that’s because they like my characters and my own character as well.”
Jonathan is part of a group of emerging creatives in the Australian industry, some of whom are now venturing overseas with followings in the tens of thousands across social media. They are nominated for 14 Australian Screen Industry awards with voting closing on 4 November.
Jonathan’s Devil May Care trilogy is available to watch on Vimeo.
