FOUR ON THE MANTLE was the winner of BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY at the Toronto Female Film Festival
1. What motivated you to make this film?<.B>
I had the privilege of walking very closely through the journeys of pregnancy with a couple of friends and family members who went through miscarriages. While this is not their story, it is my way of honoring them.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
It took a full year from writing the script to the finished edit due do a number of setbacks like Covid and hurricane Ida.
3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Family Matters! (whether it’s the one you are born into or the one you make)
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Covid, health issues, and post sound mixing.
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I could not stop smiling and my cheeks were super red hahaaha. Overwhelmed, grateful and thrilled.
6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
When I was 18 and made a film for a literature presentation in college instead of a power point like everyone else. I convinced some classmates to join in and we had a blast.
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Now that is a VERY hard question to answer because I tend to watch things I love over and over – but I would say it’s a toss up between the OG Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, 2001:A Space Odessy, To Have and Have Not, The Wizard of Oz, and Singing in the Rain.
8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
This has all already been so amazing and I’m so grateful, so I would say just please keep doing what you are doing!
9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
Excellent
10. What is your favorite meal?
I’m from New Orleans so that is a very hard question to answer but I’m going to go with my Dad’s red beans and rice with creole sauce.
11. What is next for you? A new film?
I just wrapped another longer form short called the “The Dead Driver” and now I am working on getting one of my features made.
Director Biography – Rachel Jacob
A New Orleans native, Rachel Jacob is an award winning writer/director who has worked in the industry for over 15 years. Coming up through the A.D. and Casting departments, she has directed many award-winning short films, showrun a pilot for a streaming series, and produced in various capacities for different notable projects such as, Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger, Treme, Little Brother of War, and HBO’s True Detective.
She is currently taking her experience and love of cinema and channeling it into writing, directing, acting, and producing feature-length projects. Rachel’s aim in filmmaking is to have her films, no matter the genre, make deep impacts, by telling stories that matter, raise awareness, and help make the world a better place.
Director Statement
I was driven to make this piece because I had the honor and privilege of walking closely alongside several amazing women who have had miscarriages. It’s a subject that I find is still taboo and no one knows how to talk about it or bring up their own grief or experience of it. I felt that anguish and eventually it came out in this story. The point of this film is not to tell anyone how to talk or grieve about this experience, but to shed light on its existence in a very real way, with all that can be at stake, and to hopefully open the door so more conversations can start happening. Thank you for watching.
Matthew Toffolo's Summary 