“We continued our string of working with accomplished YA authors by recruiting Barry Lyga — hot on the heels of his successful novel ‘The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl’ — to the team for ‘All Roads Lead Away.’ In preliminary brainstorming about the script (and well aware of the time limitations of a short film), Barry and I concentrated on boiling the plot down to the essential nature of a ‘road movie’: traveling toward an intended destination. We thought about exactly how we would want that journey (both literally and thematically) to resolve, planning to work back from that conclusion. Traditionally, the protagonists arrive at their promised destination, changing as a result of their journey. But we felt there was more dramatic mileage to be gained if they failed to arrive. What series of events would result in that outcome? Turning those road-movie expectations on their head, and capitalizing on the readily identifiable real-world recession dominating the news, Barry crafted a straightforward story about a couple struggling with hardship and desperately hoping to make a new start. Anchored by stellar performances from Jennifer Massey and Joe Hansard (both of whom had worked with us on the just-wrapped ‘Number One With a Bullet’), the film struck a chord with audiences and remains relevant to this day.”