5 Questions with Courtney Hope Thérond

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

I wasn't allowed to watch movies or TV growing up except for rare occasions so I didn't really find film until high school when I took a cinema studies class. That class changed my life. I fell in love with film and started to watch movies the way you might study literature, by watching them by film period in chronological order. So I have a special affinity for older films and foreign films because those were some of the first movies I was really exposed to. I had taken a lot of theater classes growing up and already loved photography so filmmaking was a way to combine my artistic ventures. I went to film school at NYU originally interested in cinematography but quickly realized that working with actors was my favorite part of the process so I changed my focus to directing. 

2) What’s the backstory here - what was the initial idea and how did it evolve from there?

I worked as a first assistant director (which is my current "day job") on a feature film where the sex scene was handled uncomfortably by the director. It wasn't the same situation as what's seen in Rehearsal but it was similar in that it fell in that grey area of consent where it was hard to point at the specific incident that made the experience uneasy. In wanting to explore how I felt about the shoot and how to broach this subject of microagressions against consent I wrote Rehearsal. 

3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And generally what part of the creative process do you enjoy the most, and the least?

Making Rehearsal was an enormous challenge and at the same time a project that came together fairly quickly. I pitched the idea of the short film to my director of photography Amanda Treyz and my lead actor Jessica Mendez Siqueiros in July at the Outfest premiere of my short The Dress You Have On, on which we had also collaborated. They were immediately on board and we filmed Rehearsal the last day of August. 

Rehearsal was truly a microbudget production and a labor of love. My production designer Cassiano Pereira and I took apart all of the furniture in my apartment to recreate a studio apartment in my living room and then after wrapping had to take everything apart to put it back together again where it belonged. We shot Rehearsal with a crew of five people, two of whom could only help for part of the day. I made lunch for everyone the night before. Amanda and I were really clear on the shots we needed and I worked with the actors on their characters' backstories before the day of the shoot so we were all able to power through and get what we needed. Working as a first AD probably helped since I'm used to working quickly and keeping an eye on the time without anyone feeling pressured by it. 

My favorite part of the process for Rehearsal was the challenge of creating the tone for the film. It was important to me that the male characters not come across as bad people, but rather well-intentioned and that the film itself didn't have a strong point of view as to who was "at fault." On the camera side I wanted the film to live in a series of wide shots with only a few close-ups of Ana (the actress) to highlight what the men either weren't seeing or were ignoring about her discomfort. I don't think anyone believed me that the film would live mostly in wides, though, so we did shoot a lot of coverage that never made it into the final cut. Creating the documentary feel of the film in the performances required the actors to be comfortable in their roles and having more to play than what was on the page so we all met over coffee a few days before the shoot to talk about each character's backstory, about the feature film they're rehearsing during Rehearsal and their relationships beyond the film itself. That's my favorite part of directing: the character-building that feeds into every aspect of the film. My least favorite part is probably having to make lunch. While I love to cook, it would be nice to only have to worry about directing on a film shoot. 

I've also really loved hearing from the audience. A lot of people have shared personal stories with me about their own experiences with consent after seeing the film and a few film teachers and intimacy coordinator coaches have asked to use Rehearsal in their courses to talk about working with actors in intimate scenes. Since I made the film to start conversations, it's really rewarding to know that Rehearsal has succeeded in doing that.

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

I'm going to go with a short film, which might be an unconventional choice, but this one has really stuck with me. I loved sometimes, i think about dying by Stefanie Abel Horowitz. I'm a big fan of short films and this one is a really subtle yet powerful one. The cinematography is gorgeous and the performances are beautifully complex. The film gave me a lot to think about, which is what I look for in movies. I highly recommend everyone take the twelve minutes to watch it (after watching Rehearsal, of course)! 

5) What’s next for you?

I'm currently working on my first feature film, which is a contained family drama that deals with the ripple effects of a mass shooting. It's similar to Rehearsal in that it's an intimate exploration of a broader social issue. I'm always excited by new projects and collaborations and looking forward to what 2020 will bring. You can find updates and reach out at www.courtneytherond.com or on Instagram @courtneytherond.