Director's Vision
Bringing a story of time, fate, and redemption to life requires bold imagination and a deep exploration of humanity’s choices. This film delves into the consequences of rewriting history and the personal sacrifices made in the pursuit of justice.
I grew up in a small Welsh village in the ’60s, the second of three children, with liberal-minded parents. It seemed like an idyllic childhood, punctuated by the excitement of getting our first television, which opened up a world of sci-fi, westerns, and epic dramas. As I grew older, I found it easier to buy books by science fiction writers like Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke, which broadened my perspective and nurtured a distrust of accepted thinking. This, in turn, influenced my work as both a photographer and writer, shaping the themes I explore in Before You Set Out.
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The film is the culmination of those influences, set in a drab, totalitarian world where the regime controls its people so tightly that cultural stagnation prevails. I chose to visually reflect this with a limited colour palette, which expands as the protagonist, Nikki, gains a deeper understanding of her world. The evolving color scheme also mirrors the past she visits, representing a time with more freedom. Themes of sacrifice, hubris, and the unintended consequences of technology are central to the story. In this, I hope to explore the rapid advance of technology, from the atom bomb to AI, and its moral implications, inspired by Churchill's warning that humanity often adopts technology without fully understanding its consequences.
