5 Questions with Rachel Harrison Gordon
1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?
I am an MFA/MBA candidate at NYU Tisch/Stern and a Sundance 2020 Blackhouse Fellow. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering, where I studied Mechanical Engineering. My interest in storytelling evolved through pursuits of perspectives in journalism and in government. Prior to NYU, I served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow for the Obama Administration, learning about Veterans and their experience returning home. I worked as a data analyst in a consumer insights group at The New York Times. I was studying people through quantitative behavioral data and through their stories before discovering film was the best way to use my voice and amplify the voices of others. What drew me to the arts was realizing that art is the best way to educate and to create empathy, to place someone in another’s experience and have them along for the ride. Many of the problems in my life occurred from the expectation that elements of life –– race, religion, gender, etc –– are binary, black or white. Art enables us to show the true spectrum of humanity and the variety of complex experiences that make us who we are. Broken Bird is my first film.
2) What was the initial idea for this project and how did it evolve from there?
The story is autobiographical. I was always made aware that I was different. I remember being asked to weigh in on what was worse: Holocaust or slavery, as if my intersectionality made me the perfect judge. I felt a pressure to choose one side, and like I was always disappointing the other side of my life. I’ve always been interested in the idea of code-switching, and how different worlds shape one’s identity. The project was done as part of my NYU curriculum. The script was written over a course of two weeks before my 2nd year of grad school, and was workshopped for about two months throughout the semester. Composing the scenes came together quickly, as well as a feature-length version. Workshopping the script in class was about refining the moments to make sure they were expressing what I wanted them to say, and realizing there was a home for all of these ideas, even if it wasn’t in this short film.
3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And the easiest part?!
Making the decision to quit my former life and pursue filmmaking was the biggest challenge. This was my first film. I am impressed at my and my husband’s ability to figure it all out throughout the production process, and am so grateful for the incredible help the cast and crew provided – they made directing a joy that I’ll never forget. This was also the first time I edited a narrative film. There were so many things I wanted to say, but cramming in more ideas diluted the overall story and made it less powerful. The closer we feel to the way Birdie experiences her world, the more we empathize with all the stuff that goes unsaid. The film went through many iterations before arriving at this point. The semi-autobiographical nature of the story made me protective of it and of both my parents. Initially there was a sense that I had to make their screen time, or their emotional arcs “equal,” and I was hesitant to portray a Black man on screen who fails to keep his commitment. I wanted to capture the positive impact he has on Birdie, regardless, and to hint at hope of better days to come – that even without a perfect or idyllic family, a kid can confidently stride into adulthood on their own. In the end, Birdie’s story is triumphant. I hope that audiences recognize she is stronger and more confident as a result of being able to incorporate all of her family.
The easiest part was filming it. The feeling on set was extremely loving, like a family. It’s what I’m proud of most of the film. I did everything I could to make an inclusive and fun-loving experience, and am so proud of the aura on set, the team’s closeness and eagerness to work together again. The fact that we created something that made kids laugh – that means something to people across the world – is unbelievable to me. It’s the proudest I’ve ever felt, the fulfillment I was hoping for when I switched careers and pursued filmmaking a couple years ago. I am so, so grateful. In some ways, the film and process validated my whole life. It was cathartic for my family: My father realized that we made it through the rough patches and that the light at the end wasn’t fleeting. My mother got a window into my perceptions of growing up. Being on set was the most empowering and grounding experience I’ve ever felt.
4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?
My partner introduced me to A Serious Man – I love the Bar Mitzvah scene. I am also inspired by Sofia Coppola and Hal Ashby and Steve McQueen, and so many other artists. At the same time I am still disappointed by the lack of inclusive representation on screen by a great number of creators. Sometimes it is hard to pick stories that inspired Broken Bird because there are so few existing comparisons, which I hope is not the case one day.
5) What’s next for you?
We are entering the development phase of the Broken Bird feature and are looking for producers – true allies – to work on that project with us. I’m also working on other shorts, and want to make music videos and commercials. Currently I am working on a VR immersive project about memory, incorporating aspects of our current COVID-19 circumstances.
—