Road to the North

From my days as a high school student down in the South-Eastern region of Victoria, I remember studying my units in film and multimedia. While I had always to be involved in the film industry, unfortunately my luck in finding such opportunities never came to be. Even after graduating I found myself faced in an industry that either refused to give me a chance or valued my time and skills so little that they expected me to work for free. After so many years, I found myself having to branch out to different career paths just to survive, eventually ending up education in Japan of all places.

I thought I had left that life behind and that my film production skills would remain unused for the remainder of my life. That was until I met Fergus Gregg, an ambitious man who came to me with the proposal of shooting a 90-minute documentary about the northern region of Japan. Whilst I was a little hesitant at first, especially after so many years of disappointing experiences, Fergus remained persistent with his proposal. In the end, I ended up accepting his offer and found myself simultaneously filming, editing, directing, and even getting involved with writing the movie. While such responsibilities are usually delegated to several people within a film production, I’m still glad Fergus reached out when he did. If it weren’t for him, I don’t think I would’ve ever mustered up the courage to take on such an immense challenge.

The concept behind Road to the North is quite an interesting one. While Japan content, especially those in the realm of vlogging and tourism, are in abundance nowadays – Fergus’ ambitions was never about chasing the latest trends or trying to become the next Chris Broad. Instead, from the very beginning, Fergus was all about the writings of an infamous poet 300 years ago and his journey up in the northern regions of Japan. This poet was Matsuo Basho, and his book detailed his journey from Tokyo, to the prefecture of modern-day Miyagi, to the northern point of Yamagata prefecture.

While initially the premise of our story was meant to cover Basho’s route and providing commentary, throughout the production the premise evolved to something much more. While Tohoku may be appeared to be nothing more than just mountains and countryside, it is a region rich in history and one home to several indigenous groups predating the Japanese. It is a region that is filled to the brim with natural beauties and clear crystal waters. But more importantly, it is a region that is, unfortunately, still unappreciated or ignored by both domestic and international tourists. By the end of our pre-production scripts, Fergus and I wanted this documentary to be much more than just a documentary about Basho – but also a movie that somehow promoted these aspects. While unfortunately a lot footage had to be cut, I do hope our viewers are able to walk out this movie with an appreciation of this region of Japan and an interest in exploring areas outside the Tokyo hub.

Despite the many technical, financial and production issues we face along the way – Fergus and I stayed committed to finish this movie. Road to the North is our very first movie, and I am proud to have my name attached to it. The fact that we were able finish it at all is nothing short of miracle and I look forward to the continued collaboration with Fergus for later film projects. I couldn’t have done it without the love and support of my partner Yuko Nozaki who has been steadfast in her support and belief in the project, as well as lending a hand in getting the production off the ground. Thank you as well to Fergus’ partner Hana Yamaguchi whose help translating and helping Fergus organise the pre-production was invaluable.
And finally, thank you to my father Darren (Darren English) for your continued support and feedback in finalizing this movie. Your notes on the earlier cuts of this film were incredibly helpful and I don’t know if this version would have ever existed without your support.