'White Bird' Director Marc Forster on Kindness, Hope, and Loving Your Neighbor
I think if we are all being honest we would agree that the world would be a much better place if people were a little kinder to each other. Nothing spectacular mind you, but just small gestures here and there to make someone’s day a shade brighter.
In his latest movie, White Bird, opening in theaters nationwide on October 4th, director Marc Forster delivers a captivating yet uplifting story of the power of kindness. It is his hope that this cinematic exploration of a critically vital topic can build bridges and make change in our hearts.
Set in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, White Bird tells the story of a young teenage girl who goes into hiding due to her Jewish lineage. She is helped by her classmate, a teenage boy intent on risking everything to help her not only survive, but to prosper in a post-war world. Along the way, the pair find love in the secret world they have created due to the kindness and mutual respect they have for each other.
Based on the critically-acclaimed graphic novel of the same name from author R.J. Palacio (Wonder), White Bird demonstrates that even in the most dire of circumstances, if we are kind to each other, there will truly be hope for a better tomorrow.
I recently sat down with Forster, who has also directed the endearing films A Man Called Otto and Finding Neverland, to discuss why we must all strive to love our neighbors, experiencing light in a darkened world, and how one small gesture of kindness can make all the difference.
For every director there always seems to be a trigger, a tipping point, a moment where you say to yourself, “I have to make this movie!” For White Bird, what was that moment for you?
I got the script probably two months into COVID and ultimately I read it. And it was the only two scripts in my life I have read that emotionally touched me on the first read where I started crying. Those scripts were Finding Neverland and White Bird .
When I read it, it just moved me so much because ultimately it was an inspirational love story. I love the book Wonder, and I was very inspired by the author taking the bully of Wonder and putting the bully into a redemptive story. I love redemption and redemptive storytelling. So, I felt very inspired by that. This person, this boy is putting his life on the line to save someone else's life. And I think this is the ultimate act of sacrifice and kindness. And I just felt so moved and inspired by that. I felt at that time, because we were also two months into a lockdown, we all weren't able to communicate or be with one another.
I suddenly felt the importance of the story was even stronger. And I felt it's an important film. I could see myself also. I feel like when entertainment meets learning meets inspiration, it's sort of the sweet spot of a good story, one that I want to tell.
White Bird shows the importance of loving your neighbor which seems to be happening less and less in our world. That makes this movie so refreshing. Can you share a bit about why it is so important to love our neighbor?
It's more important than ever. I feel like often we are all so removed from one another, and to open your heart and be kind to your neighbors is a very important thing. And it's interesting that right around the time when I read the script, I saw my neighbor on the street, who is a lovely, lovely man. He is a painter, and he asked me how I was doing. I said I was having a frustrating day. I lost my mailbox key and had to find someone to get it fixed. And the next day I came out the door and he had taped a little envelope in my door with a new mailbox key in it. He said, “I fixed it.” That's great. And this little gesture of kindness is something that made me so happy. His gesture just brought so much joy to me without saying anything. He wanted nothing in return. It's just these little gestures of kindness during the day to other people that can change our perspective and inspire us. It’s just very important.
For me, White Bird does such a great job of balancing the seriousness of the subject matter with a certain lightness experienced through the lens of love and hope. How did you go about making sure this message came through prominently in the film?
As a director, you're in charge of the image, of the lighting, of the acting, and of the directing. You need to make sure that from the script there are certain themes that are important and certain scenes that are very important. You need to make sure that those land and those scenes express great meaning when you put them together. They need to add up to make something beautiful. In White Bird, for me, it was always important that the light overcomes darkness.
I was location scouting trying to find a city that would convey this. I found this in the Czech Republic. It was always gray. Every day was gray. So, if the sun is out, the sun would be in the scene. I needed it at 11 o'clock for the lights to shine. Everybody was laughing at me and said, ‘Oh, at this time of the year here in the Czech Republic, it will always be dark.’ It will always be dark. And every time we got to a place, literally the clouds parted. The sun shined, came out for the scene, and the clouds came back together. I never had that happen in any movie I have directed. It was literally like a miracle. And it happened every time. The crew started to say, ‘Well, who did you make a deal with?’ I said, I didn't make deals with anybody. It's just that this light appears.
And I really believe in my heart that the way we shot it was the way that light came to certain very important scenes. The movie affects you very differently because it happened very often throughout the film. It happened especially every time we were in the barn. We are lit and you're in this world, but every time you come out of the barn, it was important to sort of leave that there. I think it really affected the film overall. I thought it sort of lessened the need to understand the blight.
What a cast … Helen Mirren, Gillian Anderson, and some great, young rising actors as well. Does it make your job easier or more challenging working with such great talent?
Having someone like Gillian Anderson makes my job easier. It's definitely much easier because you're working with such real professionals. It was a little tricky at the beginning because I casted via Zoom due to COVID. And as I mentioned, this movie is built around a teenage romance where the actors need to have some kind of chemistry that is believable and that's working. The first time I met them, I was just praying that those two will connect. The first time I met them was in person, and it worked out miraculously. And you have to work with younger actors a little stronger than with someone like Helen (Mirren) or Gillian. Those two are real pros. But with those young actors, you definitely have to rehearse and work a little harder.
After people have a chance to see White Bird what would you like to see audiences get out of the viewing experience? What is your greatest hope for the film?
I hope they feel inspired and they feel the hope that light outshines the dark, and to be kind, choose kindness. It doesn't have to be big gestures. It can be very small ones. But if we all keep our hearts open, choose kindness, be brave, and love our neighbors, the world will be very different. It will be a better place.
'White Bird' stars Helen Mirren, Gillian Anderson, Orlando Schwerdt, and Ariella Glaser.
WATCH A TRAILER FOR WHITE BIRD:
