As I watched Rosa’s directorial debut, I couldn’t help the swirling sense of dread and pressure that comes from this tight, intense short film. Following Rae’s birthday celebration with their father Jeff, the film slow boils you into one of the most tense dinner’s featuring a mariachi band you’ve ever seen in your life and leaves you reflecting on how those closest to us can sometimes feel the furthest away.
I had the opportunity to chat to Rosa about this beautifully complex film, the detailed filming process and what she hopes viewers take away.
Congratulations on your short film! I’d love to start by asking a bit about your inspiration. whether there was a single inciting incident that led to the creation of the script, or if there were a few strands of inspiration?
Thanks so much! Yes, the very beginning of the idea came from a real-life situation, my sister and her partner had a family visit where their pet dog suddenly died, and they had to deal with the pressure of taking care of everyone at the same time as going through this really sad situation. It was a pretty awful few days. When I spoke to them later I could see some twisted comedy in all the sadness, so I asked if I could make a film based on it. I really wanted to write something about being unseen and misunderstood by the people closest to us, and how awkward and difficult that can sometimes be. So I’d say this was the foundation for the film!
I loved the path the film took, especially finding it a really interesting choice to deny Rae the opportunity to have a true moment of catharsis with the interruption of the birthday singers (which by the way, what a nightmare situation!!). Can you talk about how you constructed the sequence of events initially in the script?
Ha, I’m so glad you enjoyed that moment! It was so fun to shoot that sequence, we had all the cast and crew singing along. To be honest I think it would have felt really false to me if Rae could suddenly express themselves perfectly in that moment… after so long of struggling to be themselves with their father Jeff. I did want to give them a chance to say something, simply because the pressure becomes too much and they literally can’t keep it inside anymore – – but then the moment falls apart, the attention is all too much, and it seems like Jeff has won the day. For me the script was about building that pressure gradually through the script, letting Rae just be surrounded by these people who are taking over everything until it becomes unbearable.
“There’s Something Universal About Feeling Misunderstood by the People Who Are Supposed to Know Us Best”
And then in comparison, how was the process of taking it from script to screen, both on set and in the edit?
Lots and lots of preparation, shot-listing, and figuring out how to shoot the cat! The hardest scene was definitely the restaurant – we actually did a test-shoot of that whole scene because it was quite complex, shooting 360 degrees around a table with all these eyelines and continuity issues and supporting actors – and I wanted to really carefully keep moving the camera closer in, until it’s just Rae and Jeff left facing each other in extreme close-up. So test-shooting a rough version of the whole scene was SO valuable and that led into lots of little changes that made the actual shoot run very smoothly. We had a brilliant crew and an honestly amazing cast, who gave so much energy and care to their performances. I feel like finding the right actors is most of the job, honestly. It was also great seeing the musical moments come to life, with the mariachi band in the restaurant, and the harpist at the start of the film. The edit took a lot longer as I had to do that myself! My usual editor wasn’t available and life got a little bit wild at the time, but I’m happy with how it turned out. I always enjoy cutting things out in the edit, finding the sharpest and tightest version of the story that I can, getting rid of things that you don’t need.
I’d love to talk about what you hope audiences take away from the film, with discussions on generational differences and, to me, the British spirit of stiff upper lip and keep calm and carry on. What kind of reflections might you want audiences to have?
Ah yes, there is a lot of that British-ness in there, I’m glad you felt that! I’m Welsh myself, and when I grew up it was very much ‘don’t express yourself too much, don’t do anything too interesting’. I think I still feel some of that discomfort actually, which is probably visible in the film!I love hearing what other people take from Birthday Boy – for me, first I hope that it helps people to connect and empathise with Rae’s struggle as a gender-questioning person; even if the viewer hasn’t experienced that specific struggle, there’s something universal about feeling misunderstood by the people who are supposed to know us best. And then I think I’d like people to reflect on what it means to really see the people we love, to offer them that gift – it is a gift, and I think it’s kinda rare when so much of our world is me-focused, we’re all worrying about how we’re being perceived all the time… it’s really meaningful to give somebody else the space and love to be who they are.
As this was your first short film, is there anything you learnt that was really useful that you’ll bring forward into your next productions?
So actually I had made a couple of short films before this (hopefully you’ll see them one day!) but Birthday Boy is the first to be finished and released – I think the main thing I learned from this particular project was the importance of surrounding yourself with people you trust and enjoy working with. I was going through a lot of challenge in my personal life during pre-production, and I couldn’t have managed the shoot without feeling so supported by my team. Also to prepare prepare prepare, as much as possible – I will definitely do test-shoots again for any particularly complex scenes in the future. And finally, don’t work with cats unless absolutely necessary!
What’s next for both Birthday Boy and for yourself?
We’re still at the start of our festival run, with seven selections so far, so I’m continuing to apply and crossing my fingers for more good news!! In the meantime, I’m laser-focused on prepping my next short film “Skimmers” which I hope to take into production early next year; and I’m working on a couple of features (possibly including a feature-version of BirthdayBoy!) – so it’s all very exciting!
