Presented by Corona Extra and Directed by Riley Blakeway, Someplace Else features Ozzie Wright, Dylan Graves, Hanni El Khatib, Rose Ashton, Jeff Canham and Andrew Brophy. Corona Extra pulled together this eclectic group of individuals for the ultimate road trip along the Mexican coast. They piled into a transporter bus for 7 days and 7 nights, traveling the coast, meeting locals along the way while eating, living, and drinking the Mexican culture.
We sent off some questions to Riley about the origins of the film, the dynamics of the group we are to follow, and his experiences on the epic journey that is Someplace Else.
How did you get involved in “Someplace Else”?
Hollywood and the guys at Corona asked me to come on board as the director of the film late last year. I helped develop the concept with the team over 4 months leading up to the shoot. It’s surely been a journey.
Putting six people on a trip together forces you to get to know one and other very well. What’s something you learnt about another on the trip that perhaps surprised you?
This group felt like one big family by the end of the trip. There was no odd man out or egos or attitudes – Just straight up good vibes the whole time. It’s weird to bring a group of people together from such different worlds and have everyone just click from the get-go but we took this into account when making the selection. We knew everybody needed to click for this trip to be a success. The characters involved are artists in their own right but they all relate to one another because of the shared common ground of creative expression. That’s the basic premise of the film. I think I learned the most about everyone during the interview process. I feel like the trip meant so much to everyone individually and I wasn’t truly aware of this until I conducted the interviews that make up the spine of the film.
What do you learn about yourself on a trip like this?
More then anything the trip just reinforced my feelings of how fortunate I am to be able to surround myself and work with such interesting and inspiring people.
Did you have a favorite spot along the Mexican coast to drink a Corona?
That’s an easy pick for me. The last shot of the film is where we wrapped shooting and celebrated a lot of hard work! That said, anywhere in Mex with sunset views and a group of fine humans like we had is perfect for a beer.
Food of choice on a Mexican Road Trip?
Huevos rancheros
Where had the best waves?
Chacala
What was your soundtrack for the trip?
Charlie Feathers
What do you think or hope people will take away from the film about the trip?
Like I said, everything happened so easily with the characters involved on this trip. Everyone was so ready and willing to dive into each other’s genres and a lot of the scenes just came together organically because everyone was having such a good time mixing it up. I feel like this comes across in the film. My main endeavor was to convey the link between creative types across multiple genres.
And a chance for some self promo: let us in on what you’re up to at the moment / what’s coming up for you…
I’m at the back end of a few jobs so once it’s all wrapped up I’m hoping to take a week or two off to skate and hit the road camping! After that it’s back home to LA and getting to work on a short documentary idea I’ve been developing.
The full version of Someplace Else is currently screening on coronaextra.com.au
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