Interview with By A Thread Filmmakers

Winner of the 19-20 Emerging Filmmakers Grant

Pentimenti’s Social Media Strategist, Charlie VanderKlipp, sat down with our 2019/20 Emerging Filmmakers Grant winner, Jordan Tragash, and his producer, Imani Davis, who talked about their short film By A Thread, which follows a young, non-binary puppeteer in the city of Chicago. After their car is impounded following a terrible audition, they are forced to figure out their way home. The film touches on themes of gender identity, loneliness, mental health, and artistry all in the middle of a bustling and sometimes relentless city.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Pentimenti: As an introduction to the project—starting with Jordan—when did this all start and what brought you to the project?

Jordan: This started for me back in November of last year, because I was doing a lot of live performance and I was feeling sort of dissatisfied with it. I was facing a lot of questions about accessibility and how people are able to access live performance. Film is a more accessible medium. I have to give a lot of credit to Imani because she really took it to another level of professionalism. If Imani hadn't been involved, it would've just been me running around with a GoPro in an alley somewhere. She really brought the structure that we needed. And the presence of mind. What's the intention? Why are we telling this story? Why does it matter?

Pentimenti: Can you talk more about the timeline of creating the film, and the challenges you’ve faced?

Jordan: I think the fact that we shot during the pandemic lent the film a particular tone that is really important for the storytelling, just because the film is so much about the search for community, and the city is so much of a character.

Imani: When we were first building the schedule, we wanted to shoot in May. Obviously that did not happen, due to COVID-19. We were just watching what the city of Chicago was doing in terms of cases and everything, and also what the Chicago film office was giving out in terms of guidelines. We were able to shoot at the end of July and beginning of August, always making sure to be up to date on the latest [COVID guidelines]. It would have been a different film if we had shot in May and things were normal. I think that extra time was like a little bit of a blessing in disguise. We were able to do it, and now we’re in post-production!

Pentimenti: Can you speak a little bit to representation and your philosophy of casting for this film?

Imani: For sure! The world went through a really huge change in June. Not only was there a pandemic going on, there was this national reckoning with systemic racism, police brutality, anti-blackness. So it really felt like a charge to represent the city in the best way possible. That's something that Chicago film can do better, is just representing people in a non-monolithic and meaningful way. I'm really passionate about representation. You don't hear stories about a non-binary person of color. We can open up so many doors and spaces for people with making this choice, to look for someone who represents these diverse backgrounds. I'm just all about being authentic making sure the unheard are heard and people can always see themselves.

Jordan: The conversation around representation is something that Imani and I both feel very strongly about and something we share, which I think is why we collaborate so well. I think we need to work together to tell stories that are universally emotional. I think that means that we can find ways to do it outside of like a white body. Can we tell a story that's about community and about artistry and have a trans or non-binary character in it and have that be part of the story, but not let identity be the defining aspect of the story? What’s something bigger than identity? How can we talk about what it means to be an artist and what it means to work?

Pentimenti: This all tracks with Jordan's initial comments about wanting to make this a film in the first place, and wanting to make it accessible. What goals do you have for this film upon its release, and how can we continue to support the film?

Imani: Definitely submitting to festivals. There's a lot of specialty and local festivals. I automatically thought about Reeling, an LGBTQ+ festival Chicago Filmmakers puts on every year. But we’re also shooting for the stars, with Sundance and similar festivals.

Jordan: And I think also, on a more personal level, I think the fact that we achieved it was very major. I think that gives us a sense of confidence going forward, The reality of it is, we made a lot of mistakes, you know? The next time we go to do it, we'll be better at it. That's really important too, as we build our community and we move forward and we try and give other opportunities to other people. We talk about resource sharing a lot, or skill sharing, and having a big pot of skills that we've been able to accumulate and we can grow.

Imani: As the final cut is quickly approaching, we plan to launch a second fundraiser and a teaser of sorts, a preview of what’s to come. People can support the film by giving us a little press, and donating to our fundraiser. And we're always looking for partnerships too, if there are any organizations that feel really drawn to the subject matter or the story.

Support By a Thread here, and apply for the 20-21 Emerging Filmmakers Grant.