From award-winning filmmaker Tyler Atkins comes his debut feature, 'Bosch & Rockit'.
The 'evocative, poetic drama' starring Luke Hemsworth and Rasmus King was filmed at Byron Bay – it's a raw, unapologetic exploration of unconscious parenting and the deeper themes of love, forgiveness and relationships.
Things in 'Bosch & Rockit' take place in a time before now. . . A time where smartphones and social media didn't rule the world (or exist at all!), the 1990s.
Told through the eyes of young teenage boy Rockit, the film is heavy with themes of love, forgiveness and relationships, and about the bond between father and son. Bosch hurries to avoid a run-in with the law, with Rockit in tow, who believes the pair are on a magical holiday together.
To find out more about 'Bosch & Rockit', we spoke to the man himself responsible for its creation – the multi-talented Tyler Atkins.
Tell us a bit about ‘Bosch & Rockit’.
'Bosch & Rockit' is an evocative, poetic drama that explores forgiveness, human connection, self-understanding, the depths of struggle and the powerful life-affirming effect of love. Based on a true story, I set out to design a feature film that quenches the thirst for meaningful cinema and illuminates the desperate need in humanity to re-examine and understand love. The film explores the concept of ‘chasing’ happiness by diving into the upbringing of a teenage boy, our protagonist; Rockit. I chose to tell the story through Rockit’s eyes because I believe this perspective adds power to a story that explores the concept of parenting versus the reality of being a kid in today’s society.
What inspired you to create a film with this story in mind?
My aim was to uplift, motivate and inspire audiences to forgive ourselves and others. I think the most important thing for me in telling the story though, was exploring the repercussions of unconscious parenting and the effects that has on a child, but also I wanted to show an innocent child that had a hard upbringing and instead of falling into the victimised state, he grew through adversity.
It’s based on a true story. What can you tell us about that?
That’s correct. The story is about parenting, unconscious parenting and the effects that has on a child but also as a child growing through adversity into a place of complete forgiveness. It was really amazing for me to run a crew, to work with some of the best cast and crew in the world and I grew a tremendous amount personally. I found my voice as an artist because I had a lot of people holding space for me to grow as a filmmaker.
Is there a main take away/lesson/learning experience you have had as a result of writing and creating this film?
I believe that love has the ability to change lives and my hope is that 'Bosch & Rockit' will become one of the great love stories on screen, one of the memorable films about understanding love through forgiveness – relevant today, but also withstanding the test of time.
This was shot throughout the pandemic. What were some of the major challenges regarding this?
Yeah, we shot it throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and were one of the first productions to successfully shoot through the worldwide pandemic. There were major challenges, especially because if someone had of caught COVID our whole production would of shut down and we didn’t have a budget to put the production on hold and that would have caused us to shut down for good.
On the other hand, did you find the conditions of filming amidst a pandemic produced any unexpected happy surprises?
Yes. The most amazing thing for us was that we basically had Byron Bay empty, no one around, no tourist, no backpackers, it was heaven, we had our home town to ourselves and it was a dream to shoot when it was so quiet. The vast landscapes really come through and we never had to worry about people in the background of the shot.
Talk a bit about your casting – Luke Hemsworth and Rasmus King in particular! What do these actors bring to the film, in your opinion?
I feel very fortunate to work with the actors that I did. They are of the highest calibre of actors in Australia and the world and it was such a blessing to collaborate with real performers and real artists, who brought so much humanity to the characters. And to discover Rasmus King who was an absolute force in his first film was such a huge blessing.
What do you hope audiences take away from ‘Bosch & Rockit’?
My hope is that 'Bosch & Rockit' allows people to start the conversation about their childhood or their upbringing. I hope people feel something and I hope people fall in love with it. I just hope people go and watch it. I made 'Bosch & Rockit' to ultimately allow people to start the conversation about their childhood or their upbringing. I hope people get triggered by it and I hope people fall in love with it. I hope 'Bosch & Rockit' confronts people and allows them to question the decisions and the choices that they make in their lives and the repercussions that has on the people around them. I served the story as best as I could and I made the best film I could have. I reached for the stars and now it’s up to God and whatever God wants to do with this film, I’ve got to trust that too.
'Bosch & Rockit' is in cinemas 18 August.
