Rachel Israel has directed short films that have screened worldwide. “Keep the Change” marks her feature debut. She is an adjunct professor at RISD.
“Keep the Change” will premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival on April 20.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
RI: “Keep the Change” is a love story about two people who meet at a support group for adults on the autism spectrum. David is an upper-class charmer struggling to hide his disabilities, and Sarah is a young woman who is totally unashamed of herself. The film shows an underrepresented community with intimacy, emotion, and humor.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
RI: I came to this story through my lead actor, Brandon Polansky, who plays David. Brandon is a friend of mine of over 15 years. He is on the autism spectrum, and our film’s story was inspired by his real life struggle to find and ultimately maintain romantic love.
The project grew into something bigger as I got to know the autism community at the JCC Manhattan, which is where Brandon met his first girlfriend. I came to know some amazing people there and became obsessed with bringing them to the screen. I had never seen characters anything like them portrayed in narrative film before.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
RI: I would like people to walk away thinking about the characters. If people still remember the characters distinctly down the line, that would be my dream come true.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
RI: The years of uncertainty while we tried to raise money to make the film were the hardest part for me. I had the cast attached from the very beginning, before there was even a first draft of the script. So, the challenge wasn’t just keeping my hopes alive through the fundraising and development period; it was also keeping the cast’s hopes alive, while at the same time not wanting to feel that I might be stringing them along.
At a certain point, we decided we would make the film with whatever amount of funding we could raise — and that was very liberating. We set a shoot date and started working toward it, and that’s when the last needed pieces of financing actually came in.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
RI: The film was made with a mixture of crowdsourcing, donations, grants, and equity. We received support from the Sundance Institute, Rooftop Film Festival, and the Princess Grace Foundation.The funding came together in pieces, and each subsequent piece got easier.
A few months before filming, we held a Seed&Spark crowdfunding campaign that was extremely helpful and a major turning point for us. It was also really beautiful to see how much potential audience was already out there to support this film.
W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at Tribeca?
RI: Playing at Tribeca is so meaningful to me. Because our film deals with the subject of disabilities and specifically autism, people who haven’t yet seen it might dismiss it as a niche film — but it’s not a niche film. To me, this is a full butter popcorn movie: entertaining, moving, and opening up a world that most people have never seen before.
Also, our film is such a New York love story. It really belongs here at Tribeca.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
RI: The best advice I’ve received in filmmaking, and also in life, is to trust yourself. This has gone a long way for me whenever I’ve had to make decisions under pressure or decisions that I consider life-altering — and if I’ve ever ignored my internal voice, I’ve always regretted it later.
I have difficulty remembering specific words of bad advice, but the worst advice I’ve ever received has probably been pressure to the effect of not listening to my instincts in favor of making a decision deemed better, safer, more the norm, for whatever reason.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
RI: I’ve never thought of myself as a female director, because I believe most of the struggles I’ve gone through so far would be those of any emerging director.
So, my advice would be to a young director trying to develop your career. I think it is very important to follow your obsessions when choosing projects. Making a film can take so much effort over such a long time — it’s important to commit to projects that will still obsess you five years from now. So, don’t overthink those choices. I believe if you follow your interests, being considered “interesting” will come.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
RI: I love “The Portrait of a Lady” by Jane Campion. It is a magnificent novel, and Jane Campion honors the book while also taking liberty with it to poetic ends. She is so free within the world that it feels like a modernization, even though it is not.
I really admire her confidence and boldness with that adaptation, as well as in all of her period films.
W&H: There have been significant conversations over the last couple of years about increasing the amount of opportunities for women directors yet the numbers have not increased. Are you optimistic about the possibilities for change? Share any thoughts you might have.
RI: I am optimistic. This is perhaps because the Everest-climbing task of making a film requires crazy optimism anyway. I have to believe that my work will be powerful enough to force opportunity.
There is such great content being made by women. It’s mind-blowing. When I see the work coming from directors I love such as Lena Dunham, Jill Soloway, Kathryn Bigelow, Nicole Holofcener, and others, I have great hope.
