At almost 15 minutes, The Call – a new work for the charity Switchboard LGBT+ – is not to your typical advert. It's a carefully balanced short that shows the breadth of support the charity offers, while tenderly touching upon the experiences faced by many young queer people today.
Jordan Rossi is the director and writer behind the work – a filmmaker and creative who has previously shot the likes of Fontaines D.C., Joy Crookes and Munroe Bergdorf, the latter on a cover shoot celebrating Cosmopolitan’s 50-year anniversary.
The Call, a collaboration between Rankin Creative and the second-oldest LGBTQIA+ helpline in the UK, marks the launch of Switchboard’s new 0800 number, by charting the potential impact it might have.
The film follows Amir, played masterfully by Adam Ali, a prospective university student struggling with their sexuality, who calls Switchboard for advice and connection at three crucial moments. With each phone call, we see Amir take steps on their own personal journey towards self-acceptance.
It shows some of the vital work helpline volunteers undertake daily, but also “explores contemporary themes surrounding LGBTQ+ culture unravelling truths about the community from a wide range of topics.”
While the film publicises the new free phone number as well as the outstanding work of Switchboard, it also explores contemporary themes surrounding LGBTQ+ culture unravelling truths about the community from a wide range of topics.
It ended up significantly increasing calls. In fact, in the week after we announced our new free 0800 phone number, we handled 610 conversations— which is more than TRIPLE the amount the charity had last year during the same week.
To learn more, we spoke to Jordan Rossi about the film and the creative process behind such a bold and important piece of work.
What was the brief?
There wasn’t one! We [Rankin Creative] had collaborated with Switchboard LGBT+ back in 2019 on an awareness campaign called ‘Safespace’. I stayed in contact with the charity as I recognise the importance of the work they do for the LGBTQIA+ community and have always been in awe of their rich legacy and history as an organisation.
In November 2022, they told me they were switching to a free phone number the following March (2023). It meant that economy was no longer a barrier to accessing the service.
They didn’t have much planned in terms of activations as 2024 is their 50th anniversary. I felt they should mark the new phone number with a non-traditional piece of work. I had a brainwave that it should be a piece of narrative, something that could cut through and affect people emotionally.
I pitched the idea to Chairperson Stephanie Fuller on a short phone call in November and she gave us the greenlight. From then onwards it was all systems go.
How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?
The pitch was literally a 10-minute phone call. That was more to gauge the interest from Switchboard’s end and if they would support an unconventional project like this. Once they were on board everything moved super quickly.
Switchboard were an absolute dream to collaborate with. We went on the journey with Stephanie and Allison Montgomery [Communications Manager] together. We shared everything with them. The different outlines, the versions of the script. Their feedback was quick and precise allowing us to keep momentum up.
They were very grateful we were creating such an emotive piece that really highlighted the different types of calls they receive but what makes Switchboard such a unique organisation.
What was the process behind ideating the concept?
Because we were working with a very limited budget, I knew that we had to be clever with the construction of the narrative. We couldn’t afford big unit moves or locations. Very early on in the process I had this image of someone calling from their car.
I loved how claustrophobic it felt. It was contained, which was a win on the production front. It then made me think “who is this character?”, “why are they calling from their car?”. I kept brainstorming who and what the character was about and then the concept of the three phone calls emerged.
Even though the character of Amir was central to the formation of the narrative I also wanted to use the short film to highlight the incredible work of the Switchboard volunteers. I had the privilege to interview some of the volunteers / operators once the script was written and included some of their dialogue in the final film.
Switchboard Operators have a very specific training. They are active listeners but not counsellors and nor do the lead callers. Some of the calls they receive can be harrowing and others can be quite uplifting or have a sense of humour about them. It was this broad range of conversations that I really wanted to include in the final film.
What was the production process like?
My background in this industry was in production so I always have a very nimble, flexible approach to projects whilst keeping a strong creative vision. This meant that even whilst writing the script I knew what favours we needed to pull so we could start on these early on.
But also, as I was writing the script, I had my director hat on. I was constructing it visually as I went. It meant when it came time to brief Heads of Department or our fantastic actors, I had a very clear vision for what I wanted to achieve visually and emotionally.
What was the biggest challenge during production? How did you overcome it?
Probably biting off more than we could chew in such a short time frame. Luckily, I had some amazing collaborators on the project from Nimi Raja [Executive Producer], Elliot Z [Producer], and Charlie Knight [DOP] who were all so giving and gracious with their time.
Similarly, we struck gold with Adam Ali who plays the central character of Amir. Adam really gave the film back to us. He took Amir to places that I’d never thought of when writing the script but that is one of the most exciting parts about working in narrative.
You get to collaborate with people who bring unique viewpoints and show you things you’d never have thought of otherwise. It was a challenge to bring all this together but in the most rewarding way possible.
What is one funny or notable thing that happened during production?
A couple of things. Because of the wonders of technology, I’ve only met one of the Switchboard Operators who lend their voices for the film. David Ames was incredible and incredibly gracious with his time. We sat together to record his VO. Max Harwood and Oliver Wickham both had to be recorded remotely due to everyone’s schedules.
Similarly, I had to approve the grade on a long-haul flight to London which I would not recommend. We were given an opportunity to screen the short at Soho House ahead of the official launch. This meant we needed to finish the film several days earlier. I don’t think anyone realises how tight our post-production schedule was on this project.
Because of the newly truncated timeline Charlie, Elliot, and our wonderful colourist Myles Bevan graded from the suite and sent me visuals whilst I was in the air. Again, the wonders of technology really helped us out here. Thankfully, all three are close collaborators and we’d all chatted in advance and shared references, so it was super clear where we wanted to take the grade.
What’s the main message of this project and why does it matter?
You can find love and support out there, in a time where the LGBTQ+ community is under attack more than ever. It was paramount to me to end the film on a positive note. Very rarely are Queer people in advertising or film depicted as living healthy, happy lives. I wanted to put that on screen.
How long did it take from inception to delivery?
Roughly around four months from start to finish. We ‘pitched’ mid-November and wrote a skeleton for the project that was signed off in December. I wrote the script over Christmas which was then approved in January. We started pre-production then too.
Shot in early February with three weeks for post-production and launched on 3rd March. It’s been the most exciting, thrilling, fear-inducing, and rewarding experience of my career.
What do you hope it achieves for the brand?
I hope it gives Switchboard LGBT+ increased name recognition and a greater awareness of their incredible work that they’ve been doing for almost fifty years.
Credit list for the work?
Cast: Adam Ali/David Ames/Max Hardwood/Oliver Wickham
Writer & Director: Jordan Rossi
Producer: Elliot Zelmanovits
Executive Producer: Nimi Raja
Executive Producer: Rankin
Executive Producer: Jordan Rossi
Executive Producer: Stephanie Fuller
Executive Producer: Allison Montgomery
Production Assistant: Shania Torgut
1st AD: Kitty Rajakulasingam
Cinematographer: Charlie Knight
Focus Puller: Jonny Iseli
Loader: Felix Wildey
Camera Trainee: Jason Cleaver
DIT: Yuriy Dvizhon
Gaffer: Ryan Monteith
Spark: Oscar Whaley
Spark Trainee: Tom Turner
Sound Recordist: Vasken Arslanian
Art Director: Sooyoung Hahn
Art Assistant: Eli Agrup
Wardrobe Stylist: Krishan Parmar
Makeup Artist: Callie Foulsham
Hair Stylist: Alan Kitrell
Editor: Samuel Marr
Post House: Homespun
Colourist: Myles Bevan
Grade House: Time Based Arts
Sound Mix: MONA
Unit Photography: Bethan Evans
Storyboard: Joe Totti
Title Design: Kate Bull
