A reluctant hitman says goodbye to his young daughter before going on a job — and when the job goes wrong, he may never see her again.

Hitman films typically portray their protagonists as unidimensional characters who live on the edge with no fears. Director Jerry Trieus brings the genre a fresh new light in ‘Good Night Hitman’, giving the protagonist a different and unfamiliar perspective through his eyes. Jerry took some time to tell us a little more about the film and his process.

Can you tell us what inspired you to bring this story to life?

Jon, who plays the protagonist, often consoles his young daughter because she cries whenever he has to leave her. Even for a short time, to go for his film shoots and commercial jobs. We thought what if one of these tearful departures became the last one he would ever have with the being he loves most in the world. So came this setup of a hitman who is exposed to a deadly poison. Who has to leave his daughter behind for her own safety.

The film was shot in a very intimate style, what were your directives to pull this off?

We embraced a slow-paced elliptical style, to follow a hitman as a reluctant out-of-his-depth wanderer on an uncertain journey. Our strategy was to focus on reactions, to read the beats of the story through the character’s thoughts rather than words. To hint at the surroundings throughout as well as the pivotal action and repercussions at the climax.

Were you scared to pull of a slower pace, more abstract kind of hitman film?

We were concerned that the film skirts around the hitman genre, showing the protagonist not as a highly skilled catalyst of the action but as a menial delivery boy who botches the job and suffers the fallout from his amateur mistake. We believed in the father-daughter relationship as the crux of the film and committed to the slow rhythm of a child’s bedtime story.

Do you have any tips or advice to offer fellow filmmakers?

The advice that I would give to that version of myself at the beginning of making this short film is to chase your vision as ambitiously as you dreamed it. But also to simplify it as much as possible, as early on as possible. Because ultimately the simple stories and little moments are the heart of the film.

What do you hope people will take away from Good Night Hitman?

We hope that people will take away from our film the simple universal feeling that love changes everything and you have to elevate yourself completely to earn it. Half measures and old ways are better left behind.