Catch the Bus is an independent short film produced, written and directed by Joe Hoenisch. He also did a lot of other stuff, like editing and even creating this website, but you can only credit yourself for so many things before it starts sounding narcissistic. And Catch the Bus was far from a lone wolf operation. Besides the acting talents of Mo Abdulrazzak (Ant), Tindall (Donovan) and Taylor Kaufmann (Fran), behind the scenes help was provided by Lauren Leever and Sanjana Vinjamuri. Caroline Booth created the logo and Aliens2Exist did the music (all the way in Australia!)
The film follows Ant, a 20-something loner, who finds Donovan, a middle aged man estranged from his family, on a forum about committing suicide. They discuss their desires to kill themselves, which is quickly revealed to be their only common ground. When it comes to opinions on mental health, evaluations of the circumstances and even how to conduct a simple conversation, the two men could not be any more different. Throughout the film they try to find common ground in an attempt to figure out the essential truth that is missing from their lives.Â
Catch the Bus was shot in the greater Philadelphia area, specifically West Chester, PA and Lower Bucks. Notable shooting locations is Ram's Diner, an icon for any West Chester University student, and Core Creek Park. It was shot on a Blackmagic Pocket 4k with cheap Ukrainian lens and lights I found at a yard sale. It was funded by me, Joe Hoenisch. It was not made as a part of any project or collective or anything. It was made out of a desire to tell the story.