by Dov Kornits
“Dusty is a very personal story to Jeremy and myself, based on losing a very dear friend of ours to cancer,” says short film Dusty actor/writer Travis Jeffery, also referencing the film’s director Jeremy Lindsay Taylor. “The film isn’t directly about her, but about how I dealt with the grief at the time, which was definitely not in the healthiest way. I dealt with it by not dealing with it. Years of numbing through deflection and substance abuse, justified as good old-fashioned partying. Dusty looks at the toxic side of loss and the things we do to avoid having to grieve, and to avoid saying goodbye. We always wanted to make Dusty a comedy until it couldn’t be a comedy anymore, which was my experience of grief – laugh until you cry.”
Today, Jeffery has a different understanding of grief. “I’ve learnt that you are never done with grief, or maybe it’s never done with you, even after 10 years. You can think you’re completely fine, and then suddenly it hits you again, out of nowhere, like a wave. What has stayed with me the most is the perspective shift you have when you watch someone you love go through something so horrible; it shows you what’s really important. It strips things back. Writing Dusty helped me understand the way I had been dealing with grief, and from there I could begin to shift it into something healthier.
“One month before Dusty was accepted into its first film festival, I found out my mum had been diagnosed with leukaemia. I knew this time it was really important not to deal with it the same way, not to numb or deflect it, but to be present. Losing my friend taught me how to be there for those I love. Thankfully my mum’s doing really well, and touch wood she continues to recover the way she has been, and her strength and resilience has been incredibly inspiring throughout her whole treatment.”
Acting for the screen since the early 2010s, with credits such as Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken, comedy Spin Out, war film Danger Close, horror Bloody Hell and upcoming black comedy Birthright, along with numerous international productions and TV shows, Jeffery puts in one of his best performances in Dusty, which he partly credits to his director. “Jeremy is one of Australia’s most experienced and talented actors. His long career as an actor made him a fantastic communicator as a director. He’s also incredibly empathetic and has his own relationship with grief, which informed how he directed. Jeremy was fantastic at navigating the vulnerable aspects of the film, I couldn’t have asked for a better director for Dusty.”
“Travis drew on his personal experience, the loss of a very close friend, and never shied away from baring his soul, on the page and then on screen,” says Jeremy Lindsay Taylor. “Our relationship is built on trust and empowerment, and out of this comes a place where we can dive deeply into the human psyche and never feel scared or unsafe. Travis revealed his soul, his pain and his darkness, and then turns around a makes you laugh.”
“We’ve just finished our second short film, where Jeremy and I swapped roles,” says Jeffery. “I directed for the first time, and he performed – alongside Hannah Diviney, two of my favourite actors. Their performances were absolutely mind-blowing. It was a wonderful first experience and I’m excited to jump into post production. So, keep an eye out for Same Time Next Week.”
