THE HAMMER AND THE BUTTERFLY Directed By Brian Crawford

Indie Express: Tell us about your film?

Brian: The Hammer & The Butterfly is a short documentary about a young transsexual female named Natalie who is in the early process of transitioning from a male teenager into a woman. The documentary captures the hurdles and heartbreaks that come with the territory, as well as the triumphs. But despite the misunderstanding of her peers and parents, Natalie shows us the importance of being true to yourself.

IE: How did you come up with the idea for the film?

B: A good friend of mine at college had been telling everyone that he would be “dropping the hammer.” At the time we had no idea what that meant, but at the beginning of 2007, he let us know that SHE was a transsexual who had been taking hormone pills for the last couple months, as well as other steps to become a woman. When she came out to me about this, the back of my mind was thinking “documentary possibilities,” but it wasn’t until she brought up the idea of documenting it that I jumped on those possibilities.

IE: How did you assemble your production team?

B:  Easy. It was for a class assignment, so we were put into groups. The other crew that helped out were close friends who also are interested in film and didn’t mind giving some of their time to the project.

IE: How did you find your cast? 

B: All the other people who are featured in the film are connected to Natalie through her own relationships with them, so no casting was actually done. I lucked out that my friend, Natalie, turned out to be a very enthusiastic and open personality in front of the camera.

IE: How long did the film take?  (From conception to final edit)

B: Technically a year. The idea came in January of 2007, and most of the footage was shot between that time and April. I made a final cut of it during the summer, but would occasionally plug away at the film for the next couple of months perfecting it to the best of my capabilities and what the footage offered. The last major update to the film came in January of 2008, when my friend and I made an original score for the documentary. After that, the piece felt complete, and I haven’t touched it since.

IE: Tell us a little about your process of directing (writing) this film.

B: The making of the documentary was very guerilla. Every weekend for a period of about three months, Natalie and I, along with some of the other crew, would either go back to her hometown of Lebanon, PA, or walk around Philadelphia, PA with the camera running almost non-stop. The camera followed her even when she was shopping. Interviews followed the same kind of guerilla tactics, though a lot of preparation was done on the theme and questions of each interview. When we came to shoot the interviews though, I found some questions became dead ends, while others opened up many other possibilities that I followed.

IE: What was the most difficult part of the shoot for you?

B: Lack of a consistent crew made it very difficult to shoot the documentary. There were many times when Natalie had to mic herself, or I was filming her and asking her interview questions.

IE: Any particular moments from filming that stand out for you?

B: The most amazing part of the shoot was when we were trying to contact Natalie’s conservative father over the phone so that Natalie could come out to him about her lifestyle. We had tried calling him many times, but couldn’t get through to him. But every time we called, both are hearts were rushing in anticipation. We finally got through to him and filmed the conversation. When it was over, there was a huge sigh of relief that she had finally come out to him, and each of the crew and Natalie gave each other hugs.

IE: Tell us about the film’s festival experience so far?

B: I can’t say that I have actively pushed to get the documentary into a lot of festivals, and it probably could have been in many more. It premiered at the FilmGate International Student Film Festival in St. Louis, OH, where it was nominated for Best Documentary (the festival gave out no awards that year.) It wasn’t until the Greater Philadelphia Student Film Festival that I submitted the documentary again, where it was nominated for Best Documentary, and came in second place. One of the people at PIGLFF saw the documentary at the Greater Philadelphia Student Film Festival and approached me about submitting the documentary to PIGLFF.

IE: What are you most looking forward to at the festival?

B: Seeing all the local, documentary shorts; except for mine. I don’t like watching my own films.

IE: What has been your most interesting Q&A so far?  What was your favorite question?  How was the dialogue afterwards?

B: This is actually the first time I’ve been Q&Aed before for this documentary; outside of class.

IE: What films and filmmakers inspire you?

B: To keep it short; Andrei Tarkovsky, Robert Bresson, Gus Van Sant, and Robert Flaherty. Of course there are many others, but those filmmakers have had the biggest impact on my filmmaking.

IE: What made you decide to become a filmmaker?

B: I had the choice of going to a traditional liberal arts school and a film school for college. I couldn’t make up my mind. A local art house theater was showing a retrospective of the Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky. I hadn’t ever heard of him, but his films sounded interesting. I went to the screening of “Mirror” with the thought in my mind that if I was blown away by the film, I would go to film school, otherwise I would give it up. I went to film school.

 IE: What is next for you? 

B: I’m currently finishing up post-production for a short film I directed during March of 2008 entitled The Cyclist. I’m also developing a treatment for my senior thesis.

IE: What is next for the film?

B: For now, I’m done. However, Natalie and I have been considering a sequel to the documentary. It would be a “Where-is-she-now?” kind of documentary, going deeper into the effects and affects of her transition and some of the experiences she’s had since the filming of the original documentary.

IE: If asked to give one piece of advice to a new filmmaker making their first short film… What would it be?

B: Being that I have only directed three films to date, I feel as though I’m giving advice to myself. But what I would say is always keep your eyes open and fresh. Don’t be limited by how you first imagined your ideas on screen, because many times you’ll find they don’t work, or that there are stronger ways of conveying those same ideas cinematically. I have seen many directors make their films weaker by keeping their eyes closed.

IE: What 5 films currently on the festival circuit are you fans of? (This is like an I Tunes celebrity playlist)

B: I haven’t been paying attention closely to the festival circuit, so I’m not that knowledgeable about what is out there.

IE: What question would you like to be asked about your film?  And Why?  What is the answer?

B: The questions I like the most are the ones that others come up with, because they usually ask questions that I could never see coming. Those are the best.

IE: Thanks so much for answering our questions!  Have a great festival!!

B: You as well. Peace.