In the small Australian town of Katoomba there is a myth, that if you throw your shoes over the powerlines at the exact moment the train passes, a wish is granted that can bend time and space. In the wake of Jude moving to Sydney, Jude and Ez call upon the power of the myth and set out to find the shoes with the most memories to get more time together.

Director’s Vision for ‘Soles’

‘Soles’ is the creative product of a 6-month film mentorship program ‘Mountain of Youth’, a grass-roots, not-for-profit which supports at risk youth in the Blue Mountains, Australia.
Returning to my hometown after years of working internationally, I established Mountain of Youth to give back to the home that raised me, and empower the next generation of storytellers after years of incredibly damaging isolation.

Mountain of Youth provides a platform for youth to have their voice heard and be part of a meaningful, immersive creative experience to address the mental health epidemic of young people, using storytelling and filmmaking to bring people together and change lives.

The script was written collaboratively by our students, inspired by their unique life experiences. For the first 6 weeks we sat in a circle, sharing stories of our lives before finally embarking on the story for ‘Soles’. On-set, our students were mentored in key creative positions, playing key roles in the creative collaboration of our film whilst getting real industry experience.

‘Soles’ encapsulates the voices of young people growing up in the Blue Mountains, the feelings of being stuck in a small-town, and the possibility of magic in the air. Our story is about friendships slipping away with time – Jude has to move to Sydney and Ez will do anything to make him stay, even if that means resorting to magic to bend time and space. Through ‘Soles’ we hoped to capture this universal experience of the preciousness of friends when you’re growing up.