ENDURANCE & TRIUMPH: A CONVERSATION WITH JACKSON PAYNE
Art/Photography
ENDURANCE & TRIUMPH:
A CONVERSATION WITH
JACKSON PAYNE
Endurance & Triumph, are the two words that director and filmmaker Jackson Payne used to describe the process of putting together his latest film Bapou. ‘Bapou’ tells the story of artist Johnny Costi, a troubled young man turned inmate, facing a decade in prison, where with time to reflect on the trajectory of his life, Costi dedicated himself to his art and self-expression. Where Costi candidly states “art saved my life.”
In the aftermath of its release, we caught up with Jackson Payne, the film's co-director, who was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support he received from friends, family and strangers who related and resonated with the hyper-personal look into the life of Johnny Costi. To learn more about the process behind making ‘Bapou’ and Jacksons own journey behind the lens we had a chin wag with the London based Director and artist.
The first lockdown of 2020, the seemingly never-ending abyss of restrictions, with no obvious end in sight. For many, this was a period of time to twiddle thumbs or revisit an old hobby but for director Jackson Payne, the time and breathing space that the lockdown afforded enabled him and co-director Jack Layfield to finish off a labour of love, the creation of Bapou, a film four years in the making.
Words:
Luc Hinson
Artwork:
Jackson Payne & Tom Shotton
With a passion for helping young people find their way in life, after graduating from University with a degree in media studies, Jackson's early 20s were spent working as a teaching assistant technician and mentor in some of the toughest secondary schools in the capital. Driven by a desire to give back, and help kids express themselves creatively, Jackson dedicated over 5 years of his life to helping others realise their creative potential. The years he spent in schools helping and guiding others shaped both his outlook on the world but also gave him many of the skills he relies on today. By working with young people Jackson sees the world through a youthful gaze, which allows him to find inspiration in the everyday, unearthing stories others may overlook as mundane or unworthy of a second glance.
In this time period working in schools, Jackson’s passion for image-making never disappeared, it simply bubbled under the surface through his 20s. He got to work on making image-making his focus by embracing every opportunity that presented itself to him. Working as a runner, spark and photo assistant by turning his hand to anything he could try, his readiness to dirty his hands earned him a spot working with London based production company The Rig Out. Where under the wing of founder Glenn Kitson, Jackson’s skills have been honed and sharpened, with now multiple production, stills and directing credits for global campaigns under his name. But aside from his commercial successes, the desire to create for himself is what brought ‘Bapou’ to life, the ability to create freely, unrestricted by client deadlines and creative briefs has kept the flame of his inspiration burning brightly.
Bapou from Jack Layfield on Vimeo.
“
Being a Teaching Assistant for 6 years felt like such a strange chunk of my life. It’s nothing to do with what I'm doing now, but I learned so much by getting to work with young people.
“
I feel so much happier now that I've made something that's completely organic, it takes as long as it takes but it gets to evolve in its own way.
The film itself has been a labour of love, at times a test of patience but above all a story of Endurance. Endurance on the part of Jackson and Co-Director Jack, to spend countless evenings and weekends spread over a four year period, making countless trips and revisits to shoot locations to capture and re-capture scenes across the UK. The patience on the part of both directors has led to a film that through the breathing space afforded to it, has flourished. It’s a film that tells a story, that speaks to the time put into it. The film feels in essence malleable, it shifts and ebbs with the flows of its protagonist, across the four year production period the life of Johnny evolved and so too did the direction of the film. The reactive approach of its directors results in a film that truly feels like a journey, not necessarily a traditional A to B journey, but one of life, of ups and downs but one that feels human, relatable and vividly real.
“
When something goes on for four years, it will morph and evolve and change, with Johnny within the time we were filming he changed and grew as a human and artist, we just had to evolve the whole direction of the film to suit that.
The ambition from here for Jackson is to keep the ball rolling: to keep creating, to keep leaning into his passions and ultimately to continue to tell the often-overlooked stories. After the year and half of lockdowns and self-reflection, Jackson is committed to embracing and continuing his creative expression, be that behind the lens, on a canvas or simply by lacing up his boots for a kick about. We’ll be keeping an eye on the London based artist to see what’s next in his bright future.
“
I don't want to be seen as a director, who isn't a film director in East London these days? I want to be seen as an artist, someone that wants to make a film, sometimes take some photos or even just go and play football as that’s where I'm expressing myself.
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