Tribeca 2021 Interview – In Conversation with Saul Abraham, Director for the Short Film ‘Enjoy,’ Starring Himesh Patel

Many films presented at the Tribeca Film Festival this year. And, as was the case with Reel Love and South by Southwest, a majority of the festival had to take place virtually per Covid-19 precautions. While this can open up the gates to more people viewing the films (it’s easier to sign in virtually than to attend all the dates at a festival), I feel that something has been lost in the mix. The energy and people can help propel film’s forward, which is the end result of any convention or festival. 

Nonetheless, at The Movie Buff, we were happy to be able to partake in Tribeca, and saw many great feature films, documentaries, and shorts. One such film was Saul Abraham’s “Enjoy,” starring Himesh Patel, which centered on the idea of masculinity and men’s mental health. The film is apropos, and a great view on the subject. It shines a light on how hard it is for men in modern society to express emotions, and also how this effects the loved ones in their lives. 

And while Tribeca has come to a close, we had the opportunity to talk to Saul about his film, his hopes for its message, working with Himesh Patel, and more. Read to the end to find out movie links to explore more about this powerful short. 

Mark Ziobro for The Movie Buff: Thank you for agreeing to this interview. Can you please introduce yourself for our readers? 

Thank you for having me. Sure, my name is Saul and I’m the director of the short film “Enjoy.”

We recently watched your film, “Enjoy,” which showed at Tribeca, which we thought was thought-provoking and profound. Can you tell us how you came up with the concept for this film? Did you work closely with Writer Callum Cameron? 

Cheers, I’m glad you liked it! Callum and I have been friends since university but we had never actually worked together before. He has been writing in the theatre in the UK whilst I’ve been mainly making commercials and short films. 

A couple of years ago he sent me the script for “Enjoy” and I loved it. I was struck by how delicately he handled feelings of misery, guilt, shame, and worry whilst still making something warm, hopeful, and funny. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry; at times and felt connected to Michael, as well as seeing a younger version of myself in Archie. Luckily he agreed to let me make it with him!

How has your film been received? We see it did well at both Tribeca and Palm Springs.

We were unfortunately not able to go to Tribeca and Palm Springs because of travel restrictions. But we’ve received lots of lovely messages from people and read some good reviews so I think it went down well! 

As a film about men’s mental health, the film makes powerful strides in explaining some of the issues men go through, along with societal expectations of their behaviors. What were some of the main points you were trying to bring forward with this film? 

We wanted to approach men’s mental health in a way I feel we rarely see depicted on-screen. Although in different life stages, Michael and Archie are both suffering with neither having the language to express it. As Michael retreats into himself, Archie acts out—both reactions to not understanding their sadness.

On the surface they both have solid support networks—Michael has a loving girlfriend in Katie, Archie a doting mother in Laura. However they feel they don’t have the right to be sad when everything around them is okay, which prevents them from talking even more.

We felt that often in cinema, stories centered around masculinity focus on something physical or ‘macho’ as a vehicle to show a character’s crisis underneath. In “Enjoy,” neither character is overtly masculine or needs to assert their authority in the classic patriarchal sense, yet they still can’t show vulnerability. This film aimed to shed light on what is entrenched in men as a whole.

Himesh Patel did a great job in the role as Michael. Can you tell us how it was working with Himesh? How did you two get connected? 

We loved working with Himesh. He’s been a friend of ours for a while now but this was the first time we’ve worked with him. The role was written for him and we were so happy when he responded to the script and wanted to be involved. He so beautifully balances the comedy and drama and created a believable and real character with actually very few lines which in a short film is so hard to do.

One of the scenes I found the most profound was Michael’s relationship with his partner. She seems irritated, and not to understand. I heard a quote once that states, “the hardest thing about mental illness, is people want you to act like you’re fine.” I believe she even insults him and states they don’t interact like humans, even though he only has depression. Can you elaborate on this scene? What do you think is going through Michael’s head? 

We wanted the scenes with Michael and Katie to be nuanced—Katie is fully understanding of his situation and has clearly been his rock for some time. However we join them at a moment when her patience is definitely starting to wear thin and she just wants him to help himself more. We wanted to show how depression can affect loved ones as well as the people suffering. We mirrored this with Archie’s mum Laura as well. Katie and Laura are both doing everything they can and what they think is best (albeit in different ways) but are struggling also. 

The symbolism of the pool scenes was striking. People with depression often feel like they’re drowning. What does the other swimmer in the wet suit represent? Is it Michael as he wants to be? A mirage? Or something else? 

I’m glad that struck a chord. Yes, hopefully it works on a variety of levels. But I guess more on the surface cold water swimming has become something that is recommended for people struggling with their mental health so it was another in a long list of things Michael is trying to do to help himself. When it comes to Swim Man though, Callum and I prefer not to tell people what we think. It’s open to interpretation!

The fact that he’s [Archie] a child mean it’s more blunt—if you know what I mean. There is no filter, he’s just saying how he is feeling.”saul abraham, ‘enjoy’ 

Another sequence I found striking was when Michael gets through to Archibald (Tom Sweet). Clearly so much is going on with him that his mother is unaware of, yet when the child mentions the very thing Michael suffers from, Michael is rather quiet. Do you think he was shocked to see that someone so young could share this affliction with him and understand him, when it seems even his girlfriend and doctor cannot? 

Yeah, I think it’s not so much the surprise that a child could feel like that as well its more that someone else is opening up who feels the same way. The fact that he’s a child mean it’s more blunt—if you know what I mean. There is no filter, he’s just saying how he is feeling.

Did you experience any difficulties in making this film? Or any challenges? 

I guess making a short film for very little money during the pandemic was the main challenge! But we were lucky to have such an amazing team who brought it together and ensured it was done in a safe way.

What do you hope that people will take away from this film? Do you hope it will inspire conversation about depression and masculinity? 

If it can be a part of that conversation that would be amazing. Since Tribeca we’ve had a lot of messages from people saying they laughed loads and then cried loads. And that they felt it was a refreshing and honest take on the subject of men’s mental health. Those are probably the biggest complements we could get. So although I’m shamelessly tooting our own horn by saying them here I’d say if people feel like that when finishing watching the film I’ll be happy!

Are you working on anything else at the moment? Do you have any more festivals to present to or films coming out? 

A few things in the works but at the moment we’re just trying to enjoy this little run at festivals. I’ve definitely been on the other side before when you’ve poured everything into a project and it doesn’t get an audience, so the fact that people outside of our little bubble are seeing the film is amazing.

Do you have any social media links or website links to share where folks can read more about your film? Is there anywhere people are able to watch it? 

The website for the film is www.enjoyshortfilm.com. All updates will be on there!

Thank you for your time! We greatly appreciate it. 

Thank you for your time Mark.

We thank Saul for his time, and hope everyone gets the chance to check out his website for more information. You can stay up-to-date on happenings with the film, and were to check it out if you didn’t get the chance to catch it at Tribeca.