Parker Hill’s thesis film, “One Good Pitch,” premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Her short films “Homing In” and “Sanderson to Brackettville” have screened at the BFI London Film Festival and online as a Vimeo Staff Pick, respectively.
Isabel Bethencourt’s work as a director and cinematographer has been published by the Wall Street Journal, ESPN, GQ, and Teen Vogue.
“Cusp” is screening at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which is taking place online and in person via Satellite Screens January 28-February 3.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
PH&IB: “Cusp” is about three teenage girls in rural Texas who are growing up amid normalized trauma. Over the course of a summer, the girls grow and mold themselves in reaction to their own pasts and cultural norms. From drugs and boys to Snapchat, it’s about all the real shit that teenage girls are already dealing with at 15/16 years old.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
PH&IB: We met a group of friends by chance in the middle of the night at a gas station. We were immediately drawn to their summer energy and boundless freedom, and knew we had to keep talking.
The excitement we felt drew us back to Texas to film, but the quick friendship and intimacy we formed with the girls drove us to help share their stories underneath all the wild nights.
W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?
PH&IB: We hope people think about what it actually looks like to normalize trauma from such a young age and realize how much teenage girls are dealing with on a day-to-day basis. We think a story like this also tends to make people look back on their own teenage years, not just to empathize with the girls but to understand the ways we all perpetuate toxic masculinity.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
PH&IB: The edit was definitely our biggest challenge, as we observed so many different facets of their experience we wanted to share, especially as it related to toxic masculinity and societal standards for girls.
Even though our film is full of rich details and life, there were many darlings left on the cutting room floor.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
PH&IB: It all started with passion and hope. We funded most of the production with money we made on commercial shoots, which allowed us to capture enough footage and edit samples to apply for grants and labs.
We were fortunate to be awarded grants from NYU and TFI to cash flow early stages of post production.
Meanwhile, we were working with our wonderfully talented producer Zachary Kislevitz, who helped us build our team of financier, sales, and publicity partners, some of whom we connected with during Tribeca All Access.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
PH: I got Netflix in 10th grade and watched “The West Wing” on repeat for like two years straight. I’ve always wanted to tell stories and entertain people, hopefully make them laugh. It was really Aaron Sorkin.
IB: I always loved going to the movies as a kid, but when I was a teenager I saw a few films that really moved me. I started to understand the depth and empathy that becomes possible with great storytelling and was just drawn to creating that experience for others. It’s also the most fun I’ve ever had!
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
PH&IB: Best advice: 1. Trust your gut, and don’t wait for permission — you’re never going to get it! 2. The way you do anything is the way you do everything.
Worst advice: Fix it in post!
W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?
PH&IB: Just fucking shoot it. If you’re burning inside to make something, go make it.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
PH&IB: Funny enough, both our answers are actually Kathryn Bigelow films! Parker’s is “Zero Dark Thirty,” and Isabel’s is “The Hurt Locker.”
PH: “There’s nobody else hidden away on some other floor, there is just us!” I say this all the time in production. I love “Zero Dark Thirty.” The way it’s structured, the cinematography, the scale of the storytelling. It gets my blood flowing.
IB: It’s hard to choose a single favorite female-directed film, but “The Hurt Locker” came to mind immediately. It came out when I was in high school, and the deep intimacy it has with a character in such a harsh setting really blew me away. It definitely contributed to my desire to make movies.
W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how?
PH&IB: We’re trying to stay creative! It’s certainly difficult, and we’ve been lucky to have many deadlines and submissions that helped us stay on track with the film. Out of necessity we more or less edited the whole movie from quarantine, which helped hone our focus and keep distractions at bay, though it was really hard not to be able to take time off to go to the movies, take walks, or have long conversations over dinner with friends.
We try to read the news only after our day’s work is done — keyword is “try” — and avoid doom scrolling on social media.
W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color on screen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What actions do you think need to be taken to make Hollywood and/or the doc world more inclusive?
PH&IB: This is definitely a huge topic that deserves more depth than we can write here, but as new members in the film community it’s great to see these conversations happening at all levels. It feels important to bring diversity into high level decision-making roles, as well as the roles of critics, producers, cinematographers, everything.
There was a letter written over the summer called “Let’s Be Honest: An Open Letter from Over 125 Black and Brown Independent Producers and Allies” that we talk a lot about. It details great steps we can all take against systemic racism in Hollywood, from not thinking of any story as “too small” to being more demanding about diversifying roles in production. If you haven’t already read it, you must!
