Baby trailer from Chapter 5 Studios on Vimeo.

Visually showcasing the factors that finally motivate protagonists to actively pursue their dreams is a powerful element in modern cinema. The new Australian short film, ‘Baby,’ does just that as it chronicles the main character, Mikaela, as she sets out to fulfill her dream of starting a family.

Llewellyn Michael Bates wrote, and James Di Martino, directed, the dramady. The duo also produced the movie with Daniel Facciolo.

The filmmakers emphasize that the most important aspect of this project is to show the beauty of people with disabilities. It does so in part by highlighting the incredible talents of actors with disabilities. The short stars Erin Kearns in the lead role of Mikaela, as well as Michael Buxton, Yiana Pandelis, Daniel Facciolo, Sarah Dute, Daniel Reader and Albert Goikhman.

‘Baby’ follows Mikaela, a young woman with Down syndrome, as she contends with the emotions of witnessing a tragic hit and run car accident involving a pregnant woman. In the aftermath, Mikaela decides to set in motion her life’s goal of having a baby. As she and Eric Charles (Buxton), a fellow resident at her group home, then conceive a child, fate intervenes and sets a course for the future of their family.

‘Baby’ had its World American premiere at this year’s Slamdance Film Festival on Friday, January 19 at The Yarrow Hotel’s LUMIX Theater in Park City. The dramady then had its second screening on Monday, January 22 at the University of Utah’s Student Union Theater in Salt Lake City.

Di Martino and Bates generously took the time to talk about co-scribing, helming and producing the movie during an exclusive interview the afternoon after the project’s second screening at Slamdance. The duo sat down for the chat at The Yarrow Hotel.

Film Factual (FF): Llewellyn, you wrote the screenplay for the new short film, ‘Baby.’ What was the inspiration in scribing the script?

Llewellyn Michael (LM): I work in a theater called the Rollercoaster Theatre, and we work with adults with developmental disabilities. We were doing development for a theater show. Everyone in the group was talking about their dreams and how they wanted to be in love.

Then at the time, my older sister became pregnant, and I was thinking about what the differences were between her and me. I have a non-visual disability, and she’s a “normie.” Then the script developed from there.

FF: James, you served as the dramady’s director. What was your inspiration in helming the movie? What was your approach to helming the short?

James Di Martino (JDM): It was a challenge. For this film, I made a foundation of how I went into it. So I storyboarded the entire film, and that seems to be my favorite way of directing a film.

That doesn’t mean I follow the storyboards exactly how they are; I’m open to flexibility, as it gives everyone an understanding of what I’m doing with the shots.

But I put the storyboards on a big plywood board, and as we go, I cross them off. That’s how I get everyone to follow my vision, and show them what I want.

I’m really fortunate that my fiancé was an artist when we first met. My drawings are particularly bad, so she made them better. That really does make it better when you show them to people. They can look at the panels and really understand what the story is. I use the panels to really explain what the story is.

In terms of directing the actors, we had our own foundation in how we approached making the film. When there was a bit of dialogue, we had to run the camera a lot until we got the authenticity that we needed.

That meant that at times, we had to push Erin and Michael as far as we could in order to do that. They were troopers, and listened to every piece of direction. They always gave it their all.

In terms of the overall experience, it was a very warming and sweet feeling for me to be able to have the freedom and control to do everything that I really wanted to within a short film. Having made previous films, I know it’s hard to juggle what you want with the money that you have.

But I felt this was really a story that needed to be told. In order to do so, I needed to put every visual style and directorial approach into the film.

FF: Speaking about Erin Kearns and Michael Buxton, they play the leads in ‘Baby.’ What was the overall casting process like for the film?

JDM: We were very lucky with Erin. Llewellyn had given me the contact information for a company called Back to Back Theatre, and they gave me some faces to have a look at.

Erin really looked like the character we were thinking about. So she sent a video audition, which was good. I was like, “This person is amazing.”

So we asked to meet her and her mom over coffee, and they were really nice people. Just seeing Erin talk to us that day made us feel as though we had found the character of Mikaela right in front of us.

So the movie magic had started before we had even gotten on set. We had found someone who looked exactly like the character we thought about.

Llewellyn, maybe you want to explain how you met Michael?

LMB: Yes. I had worked on a film called ‘Thomas Rides in an Ambulance,’ which is where I met Michael. He played one of the characters in that film. After that, I just knew that I wanted to put him in another film. I wanted to challenge him by giving him quite a large role. He’s a very charming and sweet man, so I just wanted to showcase his abilities.

FF: Once the actors were cast, how did you approach working with them to build their characters? Did you have any rehearsal time with them during the production in order to craft the story?

LMB: I think there was an almost immediate trust with the actors. I’ve known Michael for a couple of years now. But we all got around a table at James’ house. We then went through the script with Michael and Erin, as well as their dads, who are both named Brian. We went through the script with them and asked them questions. We went through the story and they learned to really trust James and me. So it was a very simple process.

JDM: I think one of the biggest benefits we had with that was that on the very first day, we filmed a pick-up shot. There’s a montage scene in the film, so we spent a whole day on the beach. We stayed at a house, and shot at four locations around that house that day. There wasn’t any dialogue in those scenes; it was just them doing things. That allowed Erin and Michael to develop a sense of trust authentically.

I first saw the magic of the film on that first day, when I saw them acting together. I thought, this is beautiful; they really look like they love each other.

LMB: Yes, there was a lot of instant chemistry between the two of them.

I also spent a bit of time chatting with them and getting to know them on a personal level. I think that also helped a lot because we talked about things we liked and our dreams.

FF: Besides penning and directing the dramady, you both also served as producers on the project. How did you approach producing the movie?

JDM: I find that it can be really hard to find a good producer in Australia. Many people have shared the same thought with me.

It’s a really challenging thing because a lot of producers say they can do everything. But when things need to happen, they disappear. I’ve had producers on my previous projects leave the country during the production. I couldn’t get in touch with them and I didn’t even know where they were.

So I decided pretty early on that if I was able to come up with the money, I would produce the short. I was able to get Llewellyn to produce as well; he’s a great producer, as well as a writer. I also got Daniel (Facciolo), who couldn’t be here, but he’s also a fantastic producer.

That team really supported all of my provisions, in terms of directing. Since I’m the one who found the money to make the movie, I had the internal freedom to make the film without anyone telling me that we couldn’t do something because we didn’t have the money. It was more so of us saying, “We’re going to do it.”

I find that no matter what you’ve done, there’s always someone who questions your decisions. If there are people on your set who don’t align with our philosophy, then it’s okay to say, “See you later.” I find that the more you keep them around, the more that the production can go downhill, and the morale of the rest of the team can sink.

I take that out of a page of Quentin Tarantino’s book. If someone criticizes his set, they won’t be there the next day. We’re pretty quick on doing stuff like that. We’re not afraid to do that because at the end of the day, it’s all about the film.

LMB: I felt like there was a real synergy amongst the producers. We were willing to go into unknown territory that was often times quite difficult to do on a short. We were such a small team of producers. We had a good budget, but it wasn’t an infinite one.

To pull off the things we did on our budget was amazing. We were really strong in the vision we wanted to have. I wanted to push the producing so that the film could have the highest production value as possible.

FF: ‘Baby’ had its World Premiere on Saturday (January 20) at the Slamdance Film Festival. What does I mean to you both that the dramady (screened) at the festival?

JDM: It’s been amazing. This is probably the best film festival for a short film. Every film I’ve seen here has been spectacular and risk-taking. The people I’ve met here are some of the best people ever; they’ve been so friendly. The connection Slamdance has to the Sundance Film Festival is also amazing. (Editor’s Note: The Slamdance organization announced in May that it will move its annual film festival from Utah to Los Angeles in February 2025.)

Coming from Australia, it’s always been a dream of mine to play at Slamdance and Sundance, and around that area. Christopher Nolan’s second feature, ‘Momento,’ and Tarantino’s first feature, ‘Reservoir Dogs,’ played at Sundance. So we hear all of these stories about Slamdance and Sundance in Australia.

The festival programmers here have been amazing. They come and check up on, and talk to, everyone. They make you feel like you’re a part of something really special. So it’s been absolutely phenomenal.

LMB: I think there’s a real focus on them wanting filmmakers to succeed. They give us filmmakers the opportunity to do that. There’s also a big focus on collaborative working between the filmmakers, the investors and the developers.

JDM: Our plan with ‘Baby’ is to turn it into a feature film. So we’re very lucky that everyone here has supported us, including our travel and marketing, to make that happen…So to be able to take all of the positive feedback and support we’ve received for the film here at Slamdance back home has been amazing.

LMB: It’s also going to help us extend the project and show that there’s an audience for this type of story. It’s been amazing that audiences are connecting to the film, and we really appreciate their support.