ASK LARGER QUESTIONS

After exploring terrorism in his 2010 drama The Space Between, actor-filmmaker TRAVIS FINE turned to the struggle for gay rights. Any Day Now is based on a true story from the late 1970s about a gay couple prevented from adopting a young boy with Down’s Syndrome. With a strong cast including outspoken queer actor Alan Cumming, Any Day Now packs a strong punch.
Jack Leger spoke with Travis about the film…

 

Your filmography shows that you’re clearly interested in bigger themes.

I am thankful that I’ve been given the opportunity to explore bigger themes in my last two films. Those are the types of films I watch. So I want to make pictures that challenge me, that inspire me and they ultimately force me to ask larger questions of myself and of my audience. For this film, the most challenging aspect was walking the fine line between gritty realism and overt melodrama.

Alan and Garret are excellent as Rudy and Paul, but young Isaac Leyva is a real discovery.

For the role of Marco, we put the word out with casting directors and with Down’s Syndrome societies. We got a lot of submissions, but as soon as I saw Isaac do his first scene, I knew he was the one. When I told him that he had the role, he said, “The dream of my life has come true.”

How have audiences reacted?

The story of two gay men trying to adopt a special-needs child is not exactly something I’d call a “crowd-pleaser”. So I was quite surprised when we won the audience award at Tribeca Film Festival. But with each successive audience award, I realised that we had created a picture that moved people, made them laugh and made them think. That’s been one of the most satisfying aspects of the entire experience.

These events happened 30 years ago. How are they relevant in light of recent advances in LGBT rights?

There are still many places, including states in America, where gay adoption is difficult or impossible. And there are still places where a person’s sexual orientation can get them imprisoned or even killed. Until there is equality for all regardless of their orientation, skin colour, religion, gender – until the day that every person is judged as Martin Luther King called for by the “content of their character”, this story is relevant.

 

• Any Day Now is out in cinemas now. 

Advertisement

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here