“Bailey Swan” is an impressionistic profile of a young woman’s 8,500 mile motorcycle journey across the country. We asked director Madeline Leshner how the project came together, how she prepared to film, and a recent film that resonated with her…

1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in movies?

I got introduced to the filmmaking world through photography. I took a bunch of photo classes in high school and fell in love with everything about it. I loved the darkroom and developing my own negatives and making prints, but at the same time I got really into making videos in lieu of taking photos for a bunch of our assignments. 

2) What’s the origin story of this project? How did you met Bailey, and how did you decide to work together here?

I met Bailey one night in February of 2018 at a friend's house. She didn't know anyone else and so we started talking. She told me she had just gotten back from the west coast and that she had been riding throughout the country [on her motorcycle] for the past few months, WOOFing and crashing at friends' places along the way. She also mentioned that she had an entire journal from the trip that she wrote in almost every day. I asked her if I could read it, and she said yes. I read the whole thing and knew that I had to translate her story onto film. 

3) What was your preparation like, both in terms of structuring the piece, and creating the visuals? What was the production like? How long did you film, etc?

I wrote a short script based on Bailey's journal entries and from there I created a storyboard, drawing lots of inspiration from the things she described in her journal. We shot over the course of 2 days in Carmel, NY. It was just me, Bailey, Zach [DP/Co-producer/boyfriend], and Artur, who also scored the piece. For the close-up moving shots, Artur drove while Zach manned the camera which was on a jib sticking out of the trunk. I sat in the trunk with Zach and used a walke-talkie app to give Bailey notes and tell her when cars were coming, etc. It was really fun to make - I love working with small crews and jury rigging crazy shit together. 

4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that really blew you away, and why?

I really liked "High Life" by Claire Dennis. There were some insane 2001-esque visuals that are still stuck in my brain, and the score and sound design was really dark and nice. 

5) What’s next for you?

I'm going down to Texas at the end of the month to shoot a short documentary about the effect that Trump's proposed border wall will have in Mission, Texas, where there is one of the largest butterfly conservations in the country. I'm also in the early stages of developing my first narrative feature film, "Joan". Last but not least just I recently adopted a dog named Johnny Cash : )

Contact Info:

Email: madelineleshner@gmail.com

IG: @madderall_76