Film is often used as a medium to explore ideas and personal journeys. This was the case for A Scientist’s Guide to Living and Dying where writer and co-director, Nitzan Mager, used the film to explore her own pregnancy while it was happening. The film follows a geneticist named Amy (played by Mager) through her pregnancy while caring for two foster children (played by Kieran Patrick Campbell and Kivlighan De Montebello).
Like her character, Mager was unsure what to expect during pregnancy and was inspired to write and shoot a film to explore that along with her co-director, co-producer, and life partner, Shachar Langev. With the story being so closely tied with her personal life, it developed and changed as she went along the journey herself. She described making this film as a learning experience with real-life events having a constant impact on the story of the film.
“They always say whenever you make a movie, there’s three films that you make. There’s the film that you write, there’s the film that you shoot, and there’s the film that you edit…When I was writing the script, it was right before becoming pregnant. Then we shot the film during my pregnancy. And then, edited it after I had the baby”
Mager said while writing the script she was, “mostly writing out of fear of becoming pregnant and becoming a mother.” With Mager not having close friends who were parents, she had a lot of questions but no personal sources to go to. This naturally translated to her character being a scientist, someone whose job is to ask questions and solve them.
Like her, Mager’s character felt uncertain what to expect when having a child and going through pregnancy. Amy takes in two foster children at the beginning of the film, and, through them, learns many nuances and lessons about motherhood. The growing relationship between Amy and the boys reflects her ongoing understanding of her pregnancy that was going on. Mager described her feelings at the beginning as “stepping into the unknown.” On the way she continuously learned more about herself and pregnancy which was reflected in the way her character balances responsibilities, develops a relationship with the children, and the various doctor appointments.
The editing process ended up being a time of reflection as Mager and Langev were now parents to a baby boy (who made his acting debut at the end of the film). This gave them a different perspective in post-production as they now had the opportunity view the story and characters from the other side of pregnancy.
Mager described this production as having a lot of similarities to filming a documentary with editing taking a lot longer than pre-production. With a script that wasn’t fully developed and real-life events they had to shoot around, they had a lot of footage to cut together into a film. The one question they had to answer was “What is the story we’re telling?”
Of course, filming around real-life events creates unique challenges such as spreading out the shooting schedule and working in Mager and Langev’s apartment. Fortunately, they had a small but dedicated crew that allowed her to wear multiple hats on the production. They grew especially close as she decided to share her personal journey. They were even all there for the baby naming.
Among that group were child actors, Kieran Patrick Campbell and Kivlighan De Montebello. The development of their chemistry with Mager was on full display as their characters growing together was a key component that held the film together. While Mager has praise for her costars, there are differences when it comes to directing adult actors and children. Mager focused on keeping things playful by finding an engaging entry point in every scene. They even improvised a lot of their on screen interactions so their performances would simply be an “extension of their relationship.”
Also placed in the connective tissue of this story of uncertainty is a scientist looking for answers. Mager wrote her character as a scientist because she felt a great contrast for an experience with a lot of open-ended questions was someone whose job it is to find answers. Her character is in the midst of researching fetal microchimerism which led to more questions as it primarily affects women who have been pregnant. The idea first sparked when she came across the research of the disease and learned about the scientist behind it.
“I discovered the scientist who pioneered the research was actually a woman as well…I got in touch with her and we set up a time for me to have a phone conversation with her because I wanted some clarification on how her research evolved so I could make my science in the film be as real as possible…And my father is actually also a molecular biologist so I really grew up spending a lot of time in his lab and that world feels very familiar to me, so I think it was a natural fit for me to have a character who’s a scientist and to have scientific research play such a big part in the story because it feels like it’s a big part of my life, personally.”
Through this scientific angle, the film gently explores what life itself means to us. Mager’s openness of her fears and curiosities shine through the film. Through revealing her real-life experiences on-screen, the film develops a unique honesty with its audience where we learn with the filmmaker. It leaves audience members with a lot to reflect on and think about.
“The biggest lesson that I took from it…is that the boundary between life and death is very fragile and that can feel immensely terrifying and that feeling of fear can either propel you forward and force you to want to really be alive in the moment and to seize the life you have when you have it as opposed to having the fear shut you down and make you be a very calculated person who doesn't embrace the spontaneity and unknown of being alive.”
**This interview was conducted for the 2019 Winter Film Awards. The article on its original page can be viewed here. https://winterfilmawards.com/2019/02/a-scientists-guide-to-exploring-the-unknown/?fbclid=IwAR3aPkGzQvOKwT93RPy9XO9e7Y79EMHqJ-kJkDmDCVobbgE5n3iidLgKDZw
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