Actor Tye Sheridan is doing double duty at SXSW. Many might be pressing start for his role in the festival’s surprise screening of Ready Player One, but his other film, Friday’s Child directed by A.J. Edwards speaks more to the independent bend of the film fest with a story that focuses on a Sheridan’s Richie, an 18-year-old fresh out of foster care who becomes a young drifter that turns to petty crime to survive and discovers an impossible love in an unlikely friend. Edwards and Sheridan stopped by the Deadline Studio at SXSW along with actors Caleb Landry Jones and Imogen Poots to talk about the film.
Sheridan and Jones are all Texas natives and Poots has familiarity filming in Texas, so for Edwards — who is also from Texas — he wanted to make this a Texas film. He said he wrote the parts for all three of the actors and they journeyed around the state filming everywhere from Austin to Waco to the artist community of Marfa.
The main focus of the film is the issue of foster care and how when teens age out, they tend to not have family or financial support. As a result, they turn to a life of crime — as Richie does in the film.
“For us, I think making this movie, knowing that there are so many kids out there who grow up in the foster system it was important to tap into that truth and speak to the heart of that,” said Sheridan.
The film, which is also produced by Gus Van Sant, makes its world premiere as part of SXSW’s “Visions” program which puts risk-taking, innovative artists in the spotlight.
Watch the interview above for the full interview.
The Deadline Studio at SXSW 2018 is presented by MoviePass.
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