5 Questions with Tyler Rabinowitz
1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?
I don't remember a point in my life where I wasn't infatuated with filmmaking. I think this video of me as an infant says it all.
I grew up closeted in South Florida. I was naturally shy and had a severe stutter that made me self-conscious about speaking –– but when I had my parents' home video camera in my hand, I suddenly felt more comfortable saying things. So, I'd wander around with it and narrate whatever I was recording.
When it comes to my path as a filmmaker, my parents like to point to a specific turning point for me. For my 8th birthday, we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios. We went on "The Great Movie Ride," and at the end of the ride I turned to them both and said that I was going to make movies one day.
That same year, my 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Simmons called my parents after reading a short story I'd written in class. She told them that the way I communicated was through storytelling, and that when it was time for middle school I needed to apply to Bak Middle School of the Arts, our county's public arts middle school, which offered filmmaking and creative writing classes. The rest was history.
2) What’s the backstory here - what was the initial idea and how did it evolve from there?
See You Soon is inspired by my own romantic experience. I met a man on a dating app, but as it turned out we lived on opposite coasts of the U.S. But as we started talking, there was this surreal instant connection unlike anything I'd ever felt before. We soon went from texting and voice notes to hours of phone calls and FaceTiming. While separated by thousands of miles, we were emotionally inseparable. When we were finally able to have a weekend together in person, I found myself able to let my guard down in a way I never had before. But as the weekend came to an end, I had to grapple with the double-edged swords of attachment, vulnerability, and the complexities of a long distance relationship. It was a pivotal moment in my coming of age. It was the whirlwind romance, that as a gay person in the south, you grow up thinking you'll never get to experience. I'll treasure that weekend for the rest of my life because I discovered not only my capacity to love, but also my capacity to receive love.
3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And generally what part of the creative process do you enjoy the most?
There were numerous challenges here, but if I'm being completely candid? Secretly running a Kickstarter for a short film about a romance that you are certain has changed your life, while still being in the early stages of dating that person. We shot this about a month after I had that magical weekend and I think he and I were both still unsure where our relationship was headed. Let's just say, I couldn't exactly put the Kickstarter link in my Instagram bio.
But in all seriousness, a challenge and (in retrospect) a breakthrough that I had when making this film was that, in order for the film to be successful, I had to change the things I was saying about myself, to myself. For a long time I told myself that, despite the undying love I have for the art of directing, maybe I was meant to be exclusively a producer. The work I'd produced seemed to gain a traction that the work I'd directed did not. I simply felt like there was something about my directing that was "off" –- which is ironic given that we as queer people have been socialized from a young age to think that there's something about our very existence that's "off." I had to get out of my own way and realize that I could wear whatever hat I felt like wearing –– and that I'd look fabulous in it either way! And I think that answers your question about what part of the creative process I enjoy the most: it's that we grow so much every time that we step on to a film set. From our first take on See You Soon to our very last, I felt like I'd emerged from a chrysalis.
4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?
HBO's documentary series We're Here. I've had many cathartic quarantine cries thanks to this show. It is nuanced, affirming, healing, and quietly revolutionary. It's also cinematic in craft; as a narrative filmmaker, I am taking notes. I think I love this show so much because it completely puts to rest any argument that LGBTQIA+ stories are "too niche" or "too small." The experiences depicted are irrefutably queer and undeniably universal. I implore everyone to give it a watch. Even if you're not LGBTQIA+ identifying, you'll still see yourself in us –– and you'll understand us better.
5) What’s next for you?
Short-term, I'd love to take the leap into directing branded content and commercials. But longer term, I'm ready to pursue something longer-form. I'm currently developing my first feature YOU CANNOT ERASE ME, which is set in Toronto and centers on the romance between an up-and-coming drag queen and a queer refugee who has recently fled the ongoing, present-day, state-supported persecution of LGBTQ+ lives in the Former Soviet Union.
—
http://tylerrabinowitz.com
@tylerrabinowitzfilms