“Rider” By Raphael Biss
Living under the shadow of her father and coach, Alicia strives for recognition during the BMX championship but she first needs to overcome a dark incident from her past.
Based on my personal experience as a rider, I made this short film with the intention to shine a light on the world of BMX racing and the challenges and risks that go with it. It was important for me to talk about the cost of obsession and explore how far people would go to pursue their passion, whether it’s physical or psychological. I liked the idea of making a “simple” story and strip away as much dialogue as I could and make a visceral and cinematic experience.
I was also fascinated by the idea of a father/coach and daughter/champion relationship and how these character’s emotions would come to life on a backdrop of a violent and intense world.
I love the sport genre and it’s a bit different than I’m used to, so of course it was at time a bit challenging to gather all the right elements and make them work as expected. The technicalities behind the sport itself and the scale of the world was also a bit of a challenge and until the very last day of post-production, I wasn’t sure if this film would work or not.
There is no way we could have achieved it without the phenomenal help from the Birmingham Club and I had incredible people in my crew who really helped me finding the heart of the story and bringing it to life - hopefully the audience won’t notice all the little fixes and tricks we pulled in post-production to make this film hold together but rather enjoy and discover the thrills of BMX racing.
Writer & Director - Raphael Biss
Credits
Starring:
Bobby Rainsbury and Fergus O'donnell
Director: Raphael Biss
Producer: Said Englund
Writers: Ralph Mathers, Raphael Biss
Cinematographer: Twan Peeters
Production Designer: Gabe Robertson
Sound: Jake Hickey, Griff Miles
Editor: Jan Schroeder
Sound Designer: Ross Wikes-Houghton
Composer: Darryl O'donovan
Vfx: Nicolas Borsari, Dominik Bari
Colourist: Francis Qureshi
Casting Director: Lizzie Bichard
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