Filmmaker Travis Wood uses his lived experience to bring a niche yet heartfelt story to life in the situational dramedy, The Travel Companion. A former “Travel Companion” himself, Travis and co-director/co-writer Alex Mallis blend the absurd with the awkward to craft a layered portrait of artistic ambition and outgrown friendships.

The Cost of Free Flights is Friendship

Simon (Tristan Turner) is a 30-something, still aspiring filmmaker who finds himself in a creative rut. He is years deep into a passion project–a wide-reaching documentary about humanity–which still lacks concrete direction, although he’s confident that he’ll find the story “in the edit”. Simon feels his artistic merits slipping away, and is desperate to keep his creative spark alive. He finds emotional solace and a logistical safety net in his best friend and roommate, Bruce (Anthony Oberbeck). Not only is Bruce always ready to lend an empathetic ear, but he is also Simon’s gateway to otherwise out-of-reach production perks. Bruce works for an airline and gets a free “Travel Companion” pass, which Simon has frequently used to fulfill his international filmmaking needs.

However, once Bruce meets and falls in love with Beatrice (Naomi Asa), a fellow filmmaker, Simon feels the threat of her presence. He isn’t as fearful of losing his close relationship with Bruce as he is of losing out on Bruce’s travel perks. And although Simon knows he can’t stay Bruce’s “+1” forever, what ensues is an uncomfortable confrontation, stemming from jealousy, one-sided competitiveness, and the inherent fragility of their friendship.

Reaching a Breaking Point

With high-value production visuals, including exterior shots on the steps of Brooklyn brownstones and multiple airport interiors, The Travel Companion is an impressive indie feature. Leading the film is Tristan Turner, who nails Simon’s subtle personality shift from bright-eyed optimist to jealous overthinker. His insecurities grow increasingly frustrating as the film progresses, which is intentional character development. From a narrative standpoint, it is a bit curious why the conflict between Simon and Bruce isn’t fully addressed until 60 minutes into a 90-minute film. Personally, I would have loved to see more time on the backend to work through Simon’s complicated feelings of betrayal, as opposed to spending more time building up the tension before the breaking point.

Directors Statement

“They say over 50% of marriages end in divorce, and this statistic also holds true in co-directing. Lucky for us, our relationship has stood the test of multiple projects. After a series of shorts, it was a natural progression to co-direct a feature. The trust we’ve built together allowed us to share the burden of creative direction in really healthy ways. To have a partner, throughout the process, with whom to bounce ideas, find solutions, and tell jokes was a kind of ballast—keeping us steady when the process got chaotic or uncertain. We could take turns carrying the weight, and that made all the difference. The result is a film that reflects not just our shared sensibility, but the kind of creative resilience borne from deep collaboration.

This film has been a series of small miracles amounting to something we are incredibly proud of. Throughout writing and production, we had one rule, which was that above all, the process had to be fun. So many wonderful people worked very hard to bring this vision to life, and to them we are eternally grateful.” – Alex Mallis & Travis Wood, directors

Takeaway

The Travel Companion embraces life’s comedic and cringeworthy moments, making for a grounded, well-rounded watch. The film was also nominated for ‘Best U.S. Narrative Feature’ at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival.