Alumni Spotlight: Rachel Israel '13
The Alumni Spotlight is a place to hear from the School of the Arts alumni community about their journeys as artists and creators.
Rachel Israel received her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA from Columbia University. Based on her award winning short, Rachel’s feature directorial debut, Keep the Change, received support from The Sundance Institute, Rooftop Film Festival, and the Princess Grace Foundation. Keep the Change world premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival 2017, where it was awarded Best U.S. Narrative Feature, Best New Narrative Feature Director and a Special Mention for the Nora Ephron Prize. Keep the Change went on to have its international premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival where it was awarded Best Debut Film as well as the FIPRESCI Award, and opened in theaters internationally in 2018 as a NY Times Critic’s Pick, with a 100% Tomatometer rating. Rachel is currently working to develop a TV series based on the world of Keep the Change, and also working on a feature film adaptation of the Jane Austen novel Persuasion.
Was there a specific faculty member or peer who especially inspired you while at the School of the Arts? If so, who and how?
My thesis advisor, Ramin Bahrani, was a tremendous inspiration. He taught me bravery through his inquisitive approach to filmmaking. I’ve learned to tackle new projects with faith, hoping that the answers I get along the way will surprise and challenge me.
How did attending the School of the Arts impact your work and career as an artist?
The generosity of my fellow colleagues at the School of the Arts has had a profound impact on my development and joy as an artist. Two years after having graduated, the relationships I started at Columbia have only grown stronger and have multiplied to form a network of friends helping each other to take risks and make great work. When I shot my first feature in 2015, I worked with over a dozen CUSOA film graduates as key production members.
If you could revisit any piece you created during your time at the School of the Arts, which would it be? Why?
I would revisit the 3-minute film my orientation group made during our first week at the School of the Arts. It was called Daddy’s Milk and was absolutely absurd and joyful. We had only a day to make these shorts and we approached them all with such a fun, fearless spirit. I’ve learned that this spirit translates to the screen.
What was your favorite or most memorable class while at the School of the Arts?
Taking “Script Revision” with Andy Bienen was a privilege. Andy’s gentle way of developing work and his genuine respect for students’ intellect and instincts made the class a sacred space. I felt just as much enthusiasm for my fellows work as I did for my own, which has a lot to do with how much Andy involved all of us in making discoveries on each other’s projects.