Perth filmmaker Taylor Broadley unveils debut feature Stubbornly Here

After releasing a string of original musicals and short films in the past few years, Perth writer, director, and producer Taylor Broadley is about to unveil his first ever full-length feature film. A deeply personal coming-of-age story about processing mortality at too young an age, Stubbornly Here premieres at Luna Leederville with an intro and Q&A on Thursday, July 4, with a follow-up screening on Saturday, July 13, for Revelation Film Festival 2024. BRAYDEN EDWARDS caught up with Taylor Broadley to find out the story behind the film and how it feels to have it hit the silver screen.

Congratulations on the release of your first feature film, Stubbornly Here. How long has this film been in the works, and how does it feel to finally be releasing it?

Thank you! Well, I’ve been thinking about this kind of story and, emotionally, what it’s dealing with for years, so that’s all made its way into other projects. But for this specific script, I started in January 2022 and did around five or six drafts before we were in production across the 2022–2023 summer. Then we had about a year of post-production. It feels a little surreal, especially since we weren’t sure if we’d get a theatrical release at all, let alone the buzz and attention we’ve gotten so far. I’m not sure I’ve processed it yet.

How did you get into filmmaking in the first place? Were there any particular films or directors that drew you into the profession?

We had some family friends own a video store when I was super young, and so growing up, that’s basically where I lived. Every second day was a new movie, or the same movie for the hundredth time, so it was a big part of my life even before I knew that it was something I wanted to do.

Then, when I was a teenager, I discovered acting and spiralled my way into writing, directing and making things in general. Classically, stereotypically, seeing a guy from Perth in The Dark Knight was my ground zero in realising I wanted to make movies, but directors like Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson and Charlie Chaplin were the ones that made me want to do more than act.

And how has that changed over time to what we are seeing now? What films would you say inspired the style and storyline of Stubbornly Here?

I wouldn’t say my tastes have necessarily changed, but it did send me down a rabbit hole of discovering French new wave directors like Jean-Luc Godard and Agnes Varda, who were definitely direct influences on Stubbornly. There’s something so timeless and nostalgic about those films that I knew I was chasing.

Also, Kazuo Ishiguoro was a huge reference point for me; the way he can implant story beats as if they’re real memories is unbelievable. I love Ishiguro a lot. But the writing styles of Linklater and Noah Baumbach—that very overtly realist and almost mundane way their characters talk—make their films feel so personal. I know it’s not for everyone, but that way of communicating is so fun to write and so interesting to me. Overly normal. Boring even.

And how did the actual filming go? What were the most challenging and rewarding parts of that stage of the project?

It went way too well. I kept waiting for something to explode. Pre-production was pretty stressful, having to manage some last-minute cast and crew changes. But filming itself was genuinely one of the best experiences of my life. Getting to just make something I cared about with some of my best friends and spend two weeks in a motel together is a core memory, for sure.

The most challenging part was probably just learning to trust myself and trust my instincts and not worry about whether what I was doing was the right thing or what people would think. Just having to melt all that away and focus on being present in the moment and sharing in it with other people. If it feels natural, it’s probably the right thing to do. If it feels forced, change it up.

It was more than a reward to have such an incredible cast and crew enjoy being together. We kind of all knew it would always be okay. A bunch of us got matching tattoos after it, so I think that’s a good sign that people enjoyed themselves.

What are the main things you hope viewers take away from watching this film? Is there something unique about the film that you hope stands out?

I hope people see how much we cared. Whether you love Stubbornly, whether you hate Stubbornly, I hope the love the cast and crew had for each other comes through. Obviously, I’d love it if you loved what we made as well. That would be nice.

But maybe it’ll remind you of your own childhood. Maybe it’ll make you listen to young people a little bit more. Maybe you’ll get to see something that’s stylistically a little different from other Aussie films. Maybe you’ll just have a fun couple of hours and come away with some indie artists you like from the soundtrack. I’d be ecstatic if anyone had even one of those takeaways.

What’s next for you after this? Are there any other projects in the pipeline we can look out for?

I’ve got a couple of feature-length projects I’m juggling and writing, and I’m starting to look into figuring out how we can get the next thing made. There’s nothing I’m prepared to say, ‘Yes, this is definitely next’ yet, but I’m always thinking about something. I’m also toying with some music ideas and have started a little novel, so, y’know, we’ll see where it all takes me, I guess. I’m really not certain what will happen.