Experiencing Interruptions?

Drive Home Safe

Much as a painter uses colours, director and writer Robby Reis uses vignettes collected over the span of 10 years to tell a coming of age story of boys maturing to men through the lens of graffiti.

  • Robby Reis
    Director
    SUHA, Hellbound for Baja
  • Robby Reis
    Writer
    SUHA, Hellbound for Baja
  • Robby Reis
    Producer
    SUHA, Hellbound for Baja
  • Selin murat
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 22 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 1, 2018
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital Video, Super8 film, 35mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • None yet
Distribution Information
  • None Yet
Director Biography - Robby Reis

Robby Reis is a filmmaker, photographer and graffiti writer who was born and raised in Montreal. In 2006, he obtained a Bachelor of fine arts in film production at Concordia University’s Mel Hoppenheim School of cinema. He is co-founder of Natali Film a Montreal based film collective. His films include Feeding the Raging Heart (2007), Hellbound for Baja (2010), Suha (2010), My Father (2018) and Drive Home Safe (2018).

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Director Statement

My interest in graffiti goes far beyond the illegal act of scrawling my name on someone else’s property. Having contributed to the graffiti community for the past twenty years as both a painter and a documentarian, I certainly have an invested interest in its rebellious nature and aesthetic beauty, however what actually excites me is the opportunity to build lasting friendships through collaboration and trust. This brotherhood between artists is the real focus of Drive Home Safe and graffiti is merely the context in which it transpires. Honest and vulnerable characters are what draw most viewers to this film, but their humour and their familiar struggles are what keep us watching until the end.

Drive Home Safe was produced over the span of ten years, during which I documented my very best friends through video, super8 film and 35mm photographs with a sense of pride and joy. After carefully weaving together these images, what has emerged is a very intimate portrait of young manhood, which reminds us just how important friendship is in the face of adversity. Developing careers, struggles with mental health, questions of morality, love and heartbreak are all common themes in this film, however none are as prominent as the universal idea of brotherly love.

Drive Home Safe is my first feature length documentary and I am proud to say that it not only offers viewers a genuine look into what makes artists do what they do, but it also asks “why not?”.