This week, we’re excited to feature Jeffrey Travis. Jeffrey’s feature length debut is Dragon Day, a science-fiction thriller about a cyber attack on the United States by China. It’s a surprising, imaginative film with urgent, real world issues at heart. It’s been playing in limited release around the country and is available on DVD. You can learn more at the film’s website and follow along with the film’s release progress on Facebook. – Editor
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Jeffrey Travis
Writer/Director
Flatland
Writer/Director/Producer
Dragon Day
1) How did you get involved in filmmaking and why?
My journey to becoming a filmmaker is a little unusual. I have a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering and ran my own software engineering business for many years. Approaching 30, with a wife and three kids, I decided to make a big career move to making films.
My imagination had always been stimulated by good storytelling– books and films– particulary in science fiction, and I had always been a writer. While working as an engineer, I continued to write short fiction, as well as authored some “For Dummies” books in the visual programming world.
In 2002, I decided to take some stories I had written into a visual medium. I picked up a camera, took a film course, and began making a series of short films. I was fortunate that my first short film ended up winning awards and getting noticed at some important festivals, and leading me to a writing development deal at 20th Century FOX Television. From there, I wrote and directed Flatland, a half-hour animated sci-fi movie starring Martin Sheen, Kristen Bell, and Tony Hale. And most recently, I completed my first feature film Dragon Day.
2) What project(s) are you particularly excited about (current or past) and why?
Dragon Day is my feature film that just recently had a small theatrical release after premiering at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. It tells the story of ex-NSA engineer Duke Evans, whose family must team up with Alonso, a Mexican illegal immigrant, the day that China launches a massive cyberattack against the USA, in retaliation for defaulting on its debt. The movie deals with some very timely themes and blends a unique thriller concept with a character-driven story that asks questions about our addiction to debt, our reliance on technology, the value of family and what we believe makes us happy.
The movie is now on DVD (dragondaymovie.com) and soon will be released digitally. Since this film has been three years in the making, our joke is we had to finish it before it became a documentary.
3) How does your faith influence your filmmaking?
As a Christian, my worldview, and the journey of my faith influence my work, though I’d hardly categorize any of my films as “Christian” movies. I’m not interested in making films for the church primarily. Rather, I feel called to share stories that are thought-provoking, original, and unique— reflecting, hopefully, the artistry of our own Creator. I believe we can meet God in our search for the true, good, and beautiful.
A professor I know once described filmmakers as “prophets of the imagination”. I like that.