There's Always a Way

“There’s Always a Way” is a stop-motion animated short featuring “Little Boy Blue”, who is visited by the spirit of his Grandmother who was killed while crossing a street.

Commissioned by the pedestrian advocacy organization Walk San Francisco.

  • Darryl Jones
    Director
  • Darryl Jones
    Writer
  • Chuck Heilig
    Editor
  • Tamar Cohn
    Key Cast
    "Grandmother"
  • Mattea Fountain
    Key Cast
    "Little Boy Blue"
  • Jessica Ludvigsen
    Senior Animator
  • Mads Ludvigsen
    Senior Animator
  • Darryl Jones
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Public Service Announcement
  • Runtime:
    3 minutes 32 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 7, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    12,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • San Francisco Green Film Festival
    San Francisco
    United States
    April 23, 2017
    North American Premiere
    Climate Action Film Contest Winner
  • BASH - Bay Area Short Film Festival
    San Francisco, CA
    United States
    June 24, 2017
  • New Urbanism Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    October 22, 2017
    Best Walkability Film
  • Roxie Mixtape #4
    San Francisco, CA
    United States
    December 14, 2017
Director Biography - Darryl Jones

Darryl Jones is a filmmaker, producer and the co-founder of the production company High Dive, which specializes in short films and music videos. Two of High Dive's short films, HI, FRIENDS! and A SON'S WEDDING, are currently on the 2024 festival circuit. High Dive's first feature film, RUTHIE JOINS A DEATH CULT, is currently in development.

Getting his start as an indie filmmaker in college, Darryl has since worked in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and is now based in North Carolina, where he grew up. As a writer/director, Darryl has made two short films, SURPRISE ME and ALL OF THIS!!!

He works as both a producer for High Dive, and as a freelance producer for film and video projects nationwide.

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Director Statement

One of the most frustrating aspects of modern city life is how ruthless car travel can be — for pedestrians. Walk San Francisco, an organization I've been proud to support, commissioned this piece to spread the word about how tragic pedestrian deaths are for our senior community.

The impact of urban traffic on everyday citizens can be a complex topic, and so I chose to use stop motion animation to distill this idea into something diagrammatic and almost child-like. The truth is that speeding cars kill pedestrians at alarming rates in the US, and especially in San Francisco. The hope is that this hand-crafted film can raise some much-needed awareness.