You could be in a crowded room feeling lonely, unaware that the person sitting next to you is just like you. I love stories that don’t take themselves too seriously, but still tug at your heart strings. I wrote this fresh out of the world’s longest lockdown – a time when we all needed a good laugh.
Hitch Hiking Is Safe is a light-hearted comedy thriller, where two twisted lonely souls find their match. They just don’t know it yet. This is a character-driven story where the detailed performances do the heavy lifting.
We kept the artistic direction simple – using mostly fixed shots with a focus on beautiful composition and natural-looking lighting. We expanded the characters’ stories beyond the runtime with a subtle use of color, both in the costume design and the lighting.
The story is grounded by its true Australian nature. From the rural corner store, to the ambient sound of local fauna and the familiar Aussie attitudes. Even Ned Kelly has a cameo. That said, I’m a Kiwi at heart – so I had to add a Maori brother into the mix. Despite our stars being a couple of murderers… My hope is that Hitch Hiking Is Safe makes you smile.
Biography
Ylia Trotter is a Maori filmmaker. Growing up on the sunny shores of Northland, Aotearoa, his passion for story telling began with LEGO stop motion movies and evolved into running a small video agency based in Melbourne, Australia.
From creating Lego stop-motion movies as a child to vlogging and working in video production, Ylia has always been drawn to visual storytelling. After working at an agency and eventually starting his video business, Sharehouse Video, with his wife, he finally took the plunge into screenwriting during the 2020 COVID lockdown. In 2020, his creative outlet began shifting from making vlogs to writing screenplays, culminating in his first ever short film, "Hitch Hiking Is Safe," which won Best Dark Comedy Film Award at the Houston Comedy Film Festival Fall 2024.
With his first short film now complete, Ylia is focused on honing his writing skills. "Hitch Hiking Is Safe" was a learning experience, designed to see how his words translated to the screen and to gain valuable lessons for future projects. He has a feature film script in the works, along with several other ideas he is currently outlining.