In director Sophie Hyde's new feature Jimpa, Hannah takes her nonbinary teenager Frances to Amsterdam to visit their gay grandfather Jim, who is lovingly known as Jimpa. Frances’ desire to stay abroad with Jimpa means that Hannah is now forced to reconsider her beliefs about parenting and finally confront old stories about the past.
Olivia Coleman plays Hannah, with John Lithgow taking on the role of Jimpa. Frances is played by Aud Mason-Hyde. Bryan Mason cut the feature and says it was his fourth narrative collaboration with director Sophie Hyde.
"Sophie and I have been together and have been working together since 2002, making a wide variety of projects, from TV series, short films, music videos, documentaries all the way to features," shares Mason, "As such, we are well versed at working together. We have a 19-year-old child, Aud, and they play a fictionalized version of themselves in the movie - the character Frances."
Mason says the project presented a challenge in that it closely mirrors their own personal experiences, so finding the line between fiction and nonfiction was, at times, tricky.
"Sophie’s process with actors is beautifully collaborative and she managed to elicit strong performances right across our international cast," he explains. "It’s her superpower, really, and meant that the challenge in the edit was refining the material and not getting too attached to every moment and scene."
Matthew Chuang served as the feature's director of photography. The first block was shot in Adelaide, Australia, and then the production moved to Amsterdam for a longer block before finally returning to Adelaide for a final block, which included all of the remaining flashback material.
"This final shoot took place part way through our post process," Mason recalls. "As such, it was strongly informed by the material which had been shot and cut so far. The actors coming in, to play younger versions of the main cast, were able to watch versions of each of the scenes the flashbacks were to be cut into. This meant the mannerisms and nuances of performance from the main cast could be studied (and) learnt and adopted by the young cast. It was really nice to see this process take place."
Jimpa was edited using Adobe Premiere Pro and features original music by composer Nick Ward. Mason points to a sequence in which the family heads to Amsterdam to see Jim as one of the more interesting edits.
"They arrive at his apartment sodden, after getting caught in one of Amsterdam’s downpours," he reveals. "The ensuing greeting scene between them all and Jim’s assistant Richard (Eamon Farren) is one of my favorites. It’s quick, busy, cheeky and a lot of fun, and captures a great version of how it felt to be around the real Jim."