Interview conducted by Michael Ehms

Filmmaker Eliza Hittman discusses her most recent film, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, what inspired her to tell this story, and how she views her career as of now.

Written and directed by Eliza Hittman, the film is an intimate portrayal of two teenage girls in rural Pennsylvania. Faced with an unintended pregnancy and a lack of local support, Autumn (Sidney Flanigan) and her cousin Skylar (Talia Ryder) embark across state lines to New York City on a fraught journey of friendship, bravery and compassion. Check out our review here.

Michael Ehms: With the film in question, I don’t think I’ve ever seen as honest a portrayal on abortion (as well as other brutal realities of being a woman) anywhere else. What was your mindset when portraying the story in this fashion? Did you have any goals when it came to what the audience should take away from it?

Eliza Hittman: I really wanted to immerse the audience in the point-of-view of the main character, Autumn. I wanted them to experience the atmosphere around her, which is very sexist and misogynistic, and I wanted the audience to experience all of the real obstacles that a woman faces in getting a legal abortion.

The story in question seems so true-to-life and personal. If you don’t mind answering, was there any real-world experience that inspired you to make this film (whether from you or from someone else)?

It isn’t inspired by any individual story. I began thinking about the film in 2012 when a woman died in Ireland, Savita Halappanavar, after being denied a life-saving abortion. I just went out and I started reading all these books about abortion trails, and thinking about the journey that women are forced to take when they live in either Catholic countries or rural areas in the U.S. So I was inspired by the journey, and how much perseverance it must take somebody to travel a long distance and reclaim their body and their rights.

(Left) Sidney Flanigan stars as Autumn and (right) Talia Ryder as Skylar in NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS, a Focus Features release.

Sidney Flanigan stars as Autumn in NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS, a Focus Features release.

“I began thinking about the film in 2012 when a woman died in Ireland, Savita Halappanavar, after being denied a life-saving abortion.”

Talia Ryder stars as Skylar and Théodore Pellerin as Jasper in NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS, a Focus Features release.

Michael: When it comes to the style and presentation of the film, did you have any films, filmmakers, or other media that you took influence from?

Eliza: I try, as a filmmaker, to avoid watching other movies for visual inspiration because sometimes it becomes dangerous, and you begin being referential in the way that you direct or stage or light. You know, there were a lot of films that I was thinking about--and that were inside of me--because I respect them so much like a lot of Romanian New Wave films, Ken Loach films, and some Bresson films also. But I didn’t watch them for visual inspiration if that makes sense.

How would you describe your artistic growth from your first feature, It Felt Like Love, to this one?

I don’t know if I would call it growth. I think that each film came together in very different circumstances. It Felt Like Love was a DIY movie that I made with almost no crew. It was a team of five people: me, a cinematographer, a sound person, a producer, and an editor. Though, it was an incredible experience to be able to make a feature film for really nothing and then for it to have an extensive life in the United States as well as overseas. And Beach Rats was also an ultra low-budget movie. You know, I’m just making work, and each one comes together in different circumstances and with different resources.

“I really wanted to immerse the audience in the point-of-view of the main character, Autumn... I wanted the audience to experience all of the real obstacles that a woman faces in getting a legal abortion.”

I heard you originally wanted to go into theatre directing but eventually transferred over to film directing. Care to shed some light on your thought process there?

I was making theatre in my early 20s, and was very interested in new play development. I was very interested in very avant-garde writers who were in New York at that moment, and eventually I just didn’t see a career for me. I didn’t see a path forward. I didn’t understand how people were earning a salary in the theatre world. I also wanted to challenge myself to be a primary creator of my own work because I wasn’t writing at the time. I felt like film was an uncharted area for me. It felt so complicated and challenging, and I was inspired to try and see if I could translate the experience I had directing theatre into film.

You seem to have grown quite a name for yourself since your first feature. How has it been for you to have this newfound reputation as a prominent female writer-director? Has any of it set in for you yet?

I don’t know if I’m looking at it in that way. You know, I’m just so pleased that the film is resonating with audiences and that it’s garnering recognition, awards, and wonderful press. I’m not really thinking about it in terms of me or my career, I feel mostly like the attention is on the film.

Director Eliza Hittman on the set of her film NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS, a Focus Features release. ©Angal Field/Focus Features

Do you have any advice for aspiring filmmakers out there? Anything particular for younger girls who want to get into the medium?

I think that their stories matter. Their voices matter. I know that it’s a long road, but if you are persistent then you can find and carve a career out for yourself. I certainly am not somebody who went a very mainstream route. But I’ve still been slowly carving out my career, making work that’s specific and unique to me and my interests.

‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ is now available on Amazon, Apple, Comcast, DirecTV, Vudu, Google/YouTube, Charter, Verizon, Microsoft, Dish, Fandango, Sony, Cox, Altice, Vubiquity, AMC On Demand, and Redbox in the U.S. It is also available on Apple, Bell, Telus, Shaw, Google/YouTube, Rogers, Microsoft, Sony, and Cineplex in Canada.