As you can probably imagine, we get a lot of emails around these parts, but there’s something special about getting an email from an indie filmmaker about their indie film that also happens to be about indie filmmaking. We’re suckers!
Enter: a (very gracious and thoughtful!) recent missive from filmmaker Travis Wood, who recently reached out to see if IndieWire was interested in debuting the trailer for his feature filmmaking debut, “The Travel Companion,” which he made alongside his creative partner Alex Mallis. That first connection is key, but so is the quality of the project on offer.
The film is made by indie filmmakers about indie filmmakers, and it tackles all of that and the enduring question of how the hell anyone, let alone young men, can possibly maintain healthy friendships in the face of professional disarray, romantic entanglements, and the natty little work perk from which the film takes its title.
Per its official logline, the film “follows Simon, a struggling documentary filmmaker, who enjoys free flights courtesy of his best friend and roommate, Bruce, who works for an airline. However, when Beatrice, a more successful filmmaker, enters the picture and starts dating Bruce, Simon risks flying too close to the sun.”
As you can see in the film’s first trailer, those free flights offer Simon the chance to further extend his professional, uh, “marinating,” but also keep him perhaps uncomfortably tethered to best pal Bruce. And, as Bruce seems to be maturing (he’s got a stable job! his new relationship seems solid!), Simon’s static nature comes into sharper relief. Plus, it’s funny and shot on location (shout out to that background M15 bus, love that route!).
Wood and Mallis co-directed the film, which they co-wrote and co-produced with Weston Auburn. It stars Tristan Turner, Anthony Oberbeck, and Naomi Asa.
The film premiered at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, during which it was acquired by Oscilloscope. Tinygiant is leading theatrical distribution, with O-Scope handling ancillary markets. “The Travel Companion” will open at New York City’s BAM cinemas on Friday, April 10, for a week-long theatrical run, followed by a limited national release on Friday, April 17.
You can watch the first trailer for “The Travel Companion,” an IndieWire exclusive, below.
