TRACKERS // Dir. Francis Wallis

From the director: I’ve always had a passion for motorcycle culture, that strange bond that occurs between man and machine and the freedom it represents to them. For this film I wanted to delve into that primal emotional response that comes from speed, how this transcends age, a common bond shared by all bike enthusiasts from your amateur grease monkey right up to the cutting edge and high precision of the professional racer. There’s a risk and adrenaline that I’ve always been drawn towards and wanted to explore this in a short little passion piece. Off the back of shooting a video out in Los Angeles I thought I’d make the best use of my three days off, getting in touch with Perris raceway track with the intention of documenting one of their riders. I was pointed in the direction of an old timer ex pro called Jeff Johnson. On meeting him I realized he represented everything I was looking for, someone who would never let go of the thrill of the ride, the addiction of the speed even as life hurtled towards his latter years. With him he brought young contemporary and current pro Nick Armstrong and we spent an incredible evening capturing amazing footage of the two as they raced around the track. I knew that our voice over needed that nod of Americana and felt that the use of poetic interpretation was they way to go in ensuring this film came across as genuine and real.