A note from the Director.
FIG JAM began life when Fabler Audio asked me to write their inaugural audio play that would then be translated into Italian! Lockdown was still in its infancy but we were all beginning to feel the walls closing in. The last global pandemic was over 100 years ago so to say we were not equipped to deal with this is a gross understatement.
I had an idea whooshing around in my head about a COVID hookup. I wondered about the many singles out there who were living alone and, after speaking with friends, the germ of a play began to larval. We as a society, in large part thanks to social media, had already been on an isolation road when it comes to personal interaction. Lockdown was compounding this. I wanted to depict two people who were in dire need to connect with another human being but were also fearful to do so (for radically different reasons). And I wanted to explore notions of trust. Can we ever trust anyone when we can hardly trust ourselves?
I was incredibly happy with the FIG JAM Fabler experience. All of the creatives (in English and Italian) did wonderful work. And I rather quickly adapted the audio play into a stage play. And from there, adapted it into a short film.
Lockdown has enabled me the strange good fortune of re-directing my passion from stage to my first love, film, where my work is seemingly more appreciated. My full-length screenplays, CONSENT, LURED and SCREW THE COW as well as my short scripts, FIG JAM, FIG DUDE (the gay version of FIG JAM) and MULTITASKING have won numerous awards and many mentions in Festivals and Competitions throughout the world—just in this last year.
And now, FIG JAM is a film. And one I am very proud of!
I am tremendously grateful to Ashley Garrett for her unwavering support and for being such a vital part of this endeavor. Much gratitude to my uber-talented cast, keen DP and kick-ass crew and to Suzanne Guacci for all her help and guidance. And to Ms. Brentan, for the continued joyuous collaboration and inspiration.
The trek across mediums has been a most gratifying and incredibly collaborative journey. I hope you will enjoy FIG JAM as much as we enjoyed making it.
Frank is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild