Rachel Durance - Women in Production Interview
In our latest interview as part of our Women in Production series, we speak to the talented Rachel Durance who was recently featured in a Film4 article as one of five women editors you should have on your radar. She tells us about the difficulties of getting into the industry, the proudest moment of her career so far and what she looks for when working with directors.
Rachel Durance
Tell us a little about yourself and the work you do
I am an Editor in the early echelons of her career and have been working as an Assistant Editor for the last 6 or 7 years. In my editing career I have really tried to focus on working with directors that have something new to tell about the world. Diversity is extremely important to me so I have tried to focus my attention on projects which have very real and distinct voices.
What route did you take to begin working in your role?
My route wasn’t the most conventional I would say. I studied Theatre Design at art school and whilst there I became really interested in lighting and video installation so after I finished university, I pursued that and become really immersed in the editing side of things. So, I spent a few months basically contacting everybody I possibly could to get work experience and eventually managed to get some work experience on Shameless for a few days in the editing department, it was definitely a light bulb moment for me. So I made the decision to move to London and became a runner in a post-production facility that mostly covered reality television but whilst I was there I wrote to every film editor I could and after about a year or so of badgering I got given my first job as a trainee on Kingsman The Secret Service.
Why did you want to get into the film/television industry?
I have always been absolutely obsessed with storytelling from as early as I can remember. But to be honest I never really saw it as a job route for myself until I was at University and practitioners from film, television and theatre would come in for lectures etc. It was only then that I thought oh wow you can actually get a job in this. You just cannot beat the feeling of coming out of the cinema having seen something that has completely blown you away and that is what I have always wanted to be involved with.
What is your proudest moment of your career so far?
I would say the proudest moment so far would be a short film I edited, Ladies Day (directed by the brilliant Abena Taylor-Smith) being selected for a British Council initiative called Five Films for Freedom in association with BFI Flare. It’s such a great initiative and I really felt like that project was something really special and something so important to bring to the world.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced in your career?
I think the biggest challenge has been to probably get into the industry itself and also making the leap from assistant to editor is extremely difficult, the industry can feel quite closed off if you don’t know the right people. This is something that is definitely changing but coming in fresh having no family or friends as contacts within it can be quite a daunting experience.
Assassin’s Creed editorial department
What new skills would you like to learn in the next few years?
I wouldn’t say there are specific skills I’d like to learn but I’d really like to see myself as the lead editor on a feature film and would just like to continue making work that I feel passionate about and collaborating with directors that I feel are pushing boundaries.
What three things do you always have on your bedside table?
I would say I probably always have at least 3 different books on my bedside table.
If you could have worked on any film in history, which would it be?
This is a tricky one! I would say probably Fish Tank. Andrea Arnold is one of my favourite directors.
Could you tell us some women who work in your role/sector that you admire the work of?
To be pretty honest there isn’t a huge number of female editors that work in feature films. Something that I hope changes in the next few years. There's been huge strides forward in television but feature films are sadly yet to catch up. That being said I really love the work that Jennifer Lame has been doing the last few years. I also really admire Joi McMillon; I thought Moonlight was edited so beautifully.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am helping out an Editor on a Zoom horror (one for the current times!). It’s pretty fun and it has been really interesting to see new ways in which we can create content even from all of our living rooms.
