'Rule Breakers' Movie Highlights Courage That Could Transform a Nation Forever
It is always refreshing to see movie directors who want to show audiences the best in people. Whether it’s highlighting those at great risk accomplishing a great deal, or simply shining a light on situations that demand a justifiable humanitarian response, making movies that matter can often serve as a solution to some of our most demanding human crises.
Veteran director Bill Guttentag is one such person. With a deep resume of films covering topics ranging from 9/11 to atrocities in 1930s China to the American civil rights movement, the 66-year-old Brooklyn, New York native has always sought projects that show the aspirational qualities in mankind.
His latest movie is no different. Rule Breakers, available in theaters and streaming on the Angel Studios app right now, is the story of a visionary woman who dares young women from Afghanistan to dream through education and science. When their innovation draws global attention, it sparks intense opposition, so much so that they must decide whether their courage can ignite a culture-changing movement in that war-torn country.
I recently sat down with Guttentag to discuss the bravery of these young women, what he did to bring the essence of this inspirational story to the big screen, and highlight some of the greatest challenges facing women in Afghanistan today.
If you were trying to convince a friend or family member to take the time to watch Rule Breakers, what would you say to encourage them? What would your sales pitch be?
It's an incredible story. It's based on a true story. And we certainly touch on some important issues, but we're also like a sports movie. The things that we love about sports, movies like Miracle or Rocky, where it's an underdog that fights to get on top. We have some of those same things in this movie. And if you liked Miracle or you liked Rocky or liked Hoosiers, I think this is a film that you know you would like as well.
For every writer/director, there always seems to be a moment where you say to yourself, “I have to make this movie!!” For Rule Breakers, what was that moment for you?
That's a really good question. I think that I found the story to be completely interesting, fascinating, and dramatic. But I also think that this is a time when we should really be making sure everyone has an opportunity to get ahead and to have their voices heard. And as things really deteriorated in Afghanistan, it became more important than ever. One of the really interesting comments I heard early on, was when one of the folks at Angel Studios told me that he showed the film to his 9-year-old daughter. And she loved it and then asked to see it again. Afterwards they had a whole conversation about how she felt really blessed to be living in the United States where she had middle school, high school, and college, and she had the good fortune of being born in the U.S. In Afghanistan, girls beyond sixth grade can't go to school. It just seems really sad. So, that was really important for us to shine a light on this. But as I mentioned, we do shine a light on important issues, but I also think we're a dramatic film that is not an “eat your spinach” type of film. It's just a good movie.
What I love about Rule Breakers is that you take a topic that most people know about – unfair treatment of women in Afghanistan - but you drill down and find such an inspirational story of these women whose courage and unity ignite a movement that can forever transform the world. What types of things did you do as writer and director to make sure the true essence of this story came to light onscreen?
That's a great question. Look, at the end of the day, it's a really good story. The powerful scenes were there. And I think part of the joy of movies is sometimes you're taken to worlds that you're not familiar with. And hopefully you can enjoy it. In our case, it was showing the side of Afghanistan that you really don't see that often. Most of what we see in Afghanistan is quite bleak. But there are plenty of people there who are just trying to live their lives, achieve, and get an education. And also, this idea of the robot competitions is completely fascinating. I knew very little about it before I made the film, but if you've ever been to one of these robot competitions, they're amazing.
It's tens of thousands of people from all over the world, and everyone's working together. As the head of the first robotics team says, “Most of the teams are going to lose, but the kids are all going to win.” That part really encouraged me. We also have issues in this country where STEM education, especially for girls, doesn't have the focus that it should have. And we wanted to show the value of that. It's not to put down other parts of education, but I think STEM education for girls is an important issue. We want to shine a light on it and show the value of it.
I’m sure casting is of the utmost importance for a story like this – making sure you found just the right person to portray this visionary woman to teach these young Afghan women to hope and dream. What types of things were you looking for in the casting process?
You wanted people who have some roots in the region. So, our casting people were looking for young actors who had a sort of sense of authenticity. All the actresses who played the team, they all had parents who are from the area. One of the actors, in fact, was born in Afghanistan. They are all first generation Americans from either Iran or Afghanistan. And the idea was you wanted folks that had a sense of authenticity to the part, but honestly, they really cared about it. Our goal with the film is you don't have to be from Afghanistan to connect with the characters.
People are people. And I sort of felt like we wanted winning actresses who exuded a sense of warmth that you would really believe in. We're a fictional film based on a true story. But a lot of the film was very true. And at one of our screenings, one of the real girls on the team came, and it was very emotional because it was their story on the screen. As a filmmaker, you want to do right by people's real stories. Fortunately, people responded favorably to that.
In the process of making this movie, is there anything surprising that you learned about the Afghan culture that you never knew? Did you have an A-Ha moment?
I learned a ton about trying to encourage respect in regard to cross cultures. It's an old and vibrant culture. There's so much bad stuff that comes out of there, but it's like any place else. Are there bad actors? Of course. But most of the people, the overwhelming majority of people are just great folks trying to live their lives. They want to spend time with their families and get an education. And I think that we really wanted to reinforce that within the film. Whenever we had opportunities to do it, we did.
What was one core thread or theme that you wanted to make sure found its way into the viewer’s consciousness?
I leave it to the audience to know how profound it is, but I think that there is this idea of triumphing over adversity. People in this country have greater opportunities than they do in Afghanistan and many other places. The idea that there is determination and grit and people helping you out, you can achieve. That is a message that we wanted to send. That's part of the inspirational message of this, that you can achieve. This is not a story where the message is achievable for other people. This is not a once in a lifetime situation. People can go out there and achieve. And I hope that we presented that message that you can achieve in tough circumstances. I hope people take lessons from this, to be inspired to take on math and science and other important topics and try to achieve in them.
As we move forward, what are some of the greatest challenges facing women in Afghanistan and some of the other Middle Eastern nations for that matter?
The biggest challenge is that girls can't go to school beyond sixth grade. It's just really tragic that folks in this country and elsewhere around the world, there's educational opportunities and it seems like shutting it down for half the population is just tragic. Things are bad when it comes to girls' education there. And I think all of us are hoping that it opens up. To me, it seems like a basic human right. You should be able to get an education.
After audiences have had a chance to see Rule Breakers what would you like to see people take away from that viewing experience? What is your greatest hope for the film?
First of all, we are kind of an issue oriented film, so I hope people will learn a little bit from the issues. But I hope they'll be inspired. I hope people will share the film with people and ask them to see it. But I also hope it's a good experience for folks. Why do we go to movies? I still believe in movies. Movies have had a hard time lately, especially independent films like ours. But I think there's something great about going to a movie theater, sitting in an audience with other folks, most of whom you don't know, and having the collective experience of joy, sadness, crying, and cheering.
And I hope that when people go to the theaters or watch it via streaming, that they'll experience all those things. I hope that they'll find it touching and they'll cheer. That's part of the joy of the movies. That is when you're focused on something. So much of the time now, we're just divided. We're on the computer, we're on our phones, and we're doing many things at once, but this is a time you go into the theater, you watch the movie, and I hope it will be a worthwhile experience for people.
WATCH A TRAILER FOR RULE BREAKERS:
