1. What was one of the most challenging moments you faced while making Yardbirds? Did this ‘setback’ change the direction of the final story?

This was my first short film we filmed with a full crew, shooting with an industry level of Arri Alexa Mini. To me, it was a great learning experience. There were many challenging moments before and during the production, which was maintaining the mood of the story. There was a scene where Bernard pushes Father to the ground and threatens him. But I decided to remove it altogether, which changed the direction to the final edit. As the sudden violence of this main character did not match the earlier part of the film in terms of the flow of the story.

2. What was the biggest inspiration behind Yardbirds?

I was reading this short film script a great friend of mine (a filmmaker as well) wrote, but he kept it on the shelf as he was working on his first feature film‘Sunflower’. For some reason, the visuals that I had after reading his script were always there in my mind because of how hollow it was. I felt compelled to tell this important story, so I asked for his blessing to make this short film.

3. What message do you want the audience to take away from Yardbirds?

The hollowness and the anticipation whilst following the main character, Bernard. And that no matter what action he takes, the damage is already done. And he has to live with it.

4. The subject matter is quite intense for obvious reasons. It's an important story nonetheless. How did you approach the subject matter during the writing stage and editing the film? Were any scenes removed?

As a director, I had to do my own research and watch relatable films, such as ‘Spotlight’ by Tom McCarthy and ‘You Were Never Really Here’ by Lynne Ramsay. And read articles from the victims’ perspectives as well. I felt that as a Catholic myself, I wanted to tell this story justice, whilst respecting the victims’ dignity and their point of view.

Other than removing excess scenes whilst editing, there were continuous flashback scenes, where during the climax, it goes further than the final edit. But I’ve decided to take it out, as I find that as an audience myself, you can tell where this is going.