Filmmaker Statement

May 2023 Walking Fernando tells an important and timely story, closer to that of a modern fairy tale, highlighting themes of balance, wellbeing, and mental health. As I prepared this film I was grappling with my role in how to deconstruct a personal story in order to construct a better one for audiences to engage with. I believe thinking outside the box and a pinch of surrealism is integral to storytelling, and for a long time I was dwelling on how to make the audience feel what I felt in, what was in reality, a really boring situation. A situation that changed my life forever. Despite not having personally spoken to a fish yet, this film represents a way for me to warn audiences, especially my generation and those to come, about the importance of "looking outside" and realizing when you've lost your path. If I'm completely honest, the fact that our main character speaks to a fish wasn't in my initial plans at all (pretty ironic, knowing now that none other than Javier Bardem would end up voicing him!) I'm interested in telling impactful stories that start a conversation and can induce change in the viewer. Walking Fernando certainly poses a series of challenging questions inside the viewer's head: are you in control of where you're heading, and is there anything that needs changing? Do you believe you're living a balanced life? Are you taking the right steps towards your future? Are you taking the time to think about your own wellbeing? The team is hopeful that you will share in our vision to bring Walking Fernando to a global audience so that we can push for answers to these questions. As a bonus "anecdote" I wanted to mention that during the shoot, everything that could go wrong, went wrong. From the Queen of England sadly passing away on our first shoot date, the rentals and councils not wanting to refund us, rescheduling, and actors dropping out everywhere we went. Oh, and thunderstorms. Many thunderstorms. But that is exactly what filmmaking is, getting over the challenges and obstacles that come your way - and I couldn't be prouder of our team. It felt like the world did not want us to make this film, and I am so glad we did. Max Mir