Iain Softley (‘The Shepherd’ director): ‘It’s a timeless, beautiful Christmas story’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“It felt so present and current,” declares writer and director Iain Softley about the “The Shepherd,” his short film adaptation of Fredrick Forsythe‘s beloved novella. Currently streaming on Disney +, the film was recently shortlisted for Best Live Action Short at the 96th Academy Awards. In an exclusive video interview with Gold Derby (watch above), Softley discusses his process of adapting the beloved novella for the screen.
“The Shepherd” tells the story of a young Royal Air Force pilot (Ben Radcliffe) heading home for the Christmas holiday. While flying over the North Sea, the pilot’s plane experiences a total electrical failure. All seems lost until a nearby pilot (John Travolta) guides the plane to a deserted airbase. The novella that the film is based on is extremely popular around the world, so popular that Travolta himself had once purchased the rights to the novella in the hopes of making it into a film.
Eventually the story found its way to Softley, who was surprised by the novella’s popularity, particularly in the United Kingdom and Canada. “I was surprised when I started to research the story more, and also talking to friends and people that eventually worked with me on the film, how many people were familiar with this story,” he says. “And with good reason. It’s a timeless, beautiful Christmas story.”
Softley had originally planned to adapt the novella into a feature film, but the Covid-19 lockdowns put those plans on hold. He was then approached by Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón, who had a production deal with Disney. “It was at that point that Alfonso got back in touch with me and said, ‘Look, if you want to do it as part of my season of shorts for Disney then you can cast who you want and it will be greenlit.’,” recalls Softley. “From that point, it was a no brainer.”
He believes that film serves as a reminder of the importance of humanity working together to help those in need, a sentiment that transcends cultures and religion. “It picks up on a sense of obligation that I’ve come across with friends of mine who are from other religions. The idea of helping out strangers and travelers in distress is fundamental,” he argues. “It seems to be a central part of something at the core of our sense of who we are.”
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