Broken Bird

Birdie

Generation Kplus 2020

As Birdie is memorising a passage from the Torah for her bat mitzvah, Donna Summer‘s “Bad Girls” keeps playing in her head. Hebrew and disco music start to blend together, the letters on the page turning into lines from the song as Jewish and Afro-American culture merge into one. Caught between religious duties, hair straighteners, separated parents and luxury handbags sold out of the boot of a car, Birdie is searching for her very own identity.

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by Rachel Harrison Gordon
with Indigo Hubbard-Salk, Chad L. Coleman, Mel House, Jari Jones, Bill Aiken, Cantor Erica Lippitz USA 2020 English 10’ Colour World premiere recommendation: 11 years and up

With

Indigo Hubbard-Salk (Birdie)
Chad L. Coleman (Andre)
Mel House (Eileen)
Jari Jones (Barbara)
Bill Aiken (Flash)
Cantor Erica Lippitz (Cantor)

Crew

Written and Directed by	Rachel Harrison Gordon
Cinematography	Rashad Frett
Editing	Rachel Harrison Gordon
Music	Amyra Leon
Sound Mixing	Kevin Johnson
Costumes	Mia Flanagan
Make-Up	Jennifer King
Assistant Director	Latifah Todd
Producers	Rachel Harrison Gordon, Alon Gur

Produced by

Rachel Harrison Gordon

Photos

Rachel Harrison Gordon

Born in the USA in 1990, she is a graduate of the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and was a Presidential Innovation Fellow for the Obama administration. She is currently studying a joint master’s degree at Stern-Tisch at New York University and is a Sundance Blackhouse Fellow. In her work she challenges expectations of race, family and addiction. Broken Bird is her debut film.

Filmography

2020 Broken Bird; short film

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2020