Rachel Morrison on tossing her hat in the directing ring for the boxing biopic The Fire Inside
The Oscar-nominated cinematographer wanted to do something that scared her. So she decided to direct.
Here & Queer is a Canadian Screen Award-winning talk series hosted by Peter Knegt that celebrates and amplifies the work of LGBTQ artists through unfiltered conversations.
Rachel Morrison has been a heavyweight in the world of cinematography for nearly two decades. Her work as the director of photography on films like Fruitvale Station, Black Panther and Mudbound not only earned her critical acclaim, but in 2018, made her the first woman to ever receive an Oscar nomination in the cinematography category (which she earned for Mudbound). Now she's sitting in the director's chair, and her first feature in that role, The Fire Inside, will be released this Christmas.
Watch Morrison's full interview below:
The Fire Inside tells the real-life story of boxer Claressa (T-Rex) Shields, played by Ryan Destiny, as she trains for the 2012 Summer Olympics alongside her coach Jason Crutchfield, who's portrayed by Brian Tyree Henry.
"I first heard of Claressa's story when our producers, Elishia Holmes and Barry Jenkins, brought me the project," Morrison says. "Part of what drew me to it is the fact that I didn't know her story and the fact that nobody seemed to know her story. And here she was one of the legends in athleticism and nobody knew of her. So I felt compelled to do what I could to try to change that. And obviously, there were things that were relatable to me as a female [cinematographer] and how perception plays a role."
Morrison says the story in The Fire Inside is a lot more relatable than people might think.
"Whether or not it's being nominated for an Oscar and having to get up the next day and figure out what's next or even just like winning a spelling bee in the second grade, you can't stay at that high forever," she says. "And then, for some of us, chasing that high can also be challenging. I think there's a difference to Claressa's story, which is that she was promised this dream because of who she was and where she came from, and that dream wasn't the same for her as it might have been for somebody else."
The Fire Inside opens in cinemas on Christmas Day.
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