Céline Roustan
In the middle of nowhere – Australia’s Nullarbor Plain – a couple, Kate and Greg, live with their dog Holly. Alone in this remote location, they manage a tiny cluster of six cottages and an emergency runway, making sure the facilities are kept in perfect condition in case a rare visitor stop by. With The Big Wait, director Yannick Jamey transports us to this incredible location, allowing us to join Kate and Holly on their daily routine, framed by the vastness of their setting.
When we asked how the film came to be, Jamey shared with us the he had ventured into the desert, with producer Lucy Pijnenburg, and “more or less stumbled upon Greg and Kate”. Inspired by the contrast between the couple’s lifestyle and the endless emptiness of the location, they started shooting within a week and “basically got to know them through filming them”. Given this incredibly short preproduction phase, Jamey confessed that the project evolved significantly: “What started out as a slice-of-life style documentary, had unexpectedly taken on a more metaphorical quality”.
There is indeed a certain beauty and poetic charm to the life they lead, all alone in the middle of this striking landscape. Jamey captures it perfectly, describing them as “Adam and Eve in the desert, performing Sisyphean tasks while waiting for Godot”. This layered metaphor unfolds creatively on screen, as The Big Wait captures their quiet resilience and enduring sense of purpose.
“It became our dolly, our crane, our helicopter, etc. which helped to break out of the typical “aerial” use of the drone.” – director Yannick Jamey
While I’m not typically a fan of drone shots, in The Big Wait they serve a vital role – capturing the landscape’s infinite emptiness, which becomes almost a character/participant in the story. As the drone shots effectively bring the scale of the setting to the screen, they immerse us in Kate and Greg’s environment, visually conveying their isolation from the rest of the world and highlighting the beauty and peacefulness of the desert. Jamey contrasts the vastness of the location when shooting the short’s participants, facing the camera they inject a human aspect into the film, grounding the story amid the boundless scenery.
The juxtaposition between the striking background and the participants discussing their mundane routine, and motivations, is cleverly edited, recreating the filmmakers’ fascination for the story when they first met them. In portraying Kate and Greg’s lives, Jamey employs two distinct approaches: a very logistical one that outlines their list of endless tasks, and a more metaphorical one, focused on finding purpose in this “void of infinite horizons”.
As we spend time with this isolated pair, there is also an element of humor in The Big Wait, adding to the film’s charm alongside the fascinating quality of the story and the beautifully immersive cinematography.
Following its World Premiere at the 2024 edition of SXSW, The Big Wait went on to be selected at multiple festivals including Hot Docs and the Palm Springs ShortFest, ahead of its online premiere today. Jamey is currently working on several projects: two short films – one fiction and one documentary – along with a mid-length doc and two feature docs.