Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1530856
28 C I N E M O N T A G E Director and co-writer Sydney Freeland (gesturing in dark jacket) on the set of "Rez Ball." P H OT O : L E W I S J AC O B S / N E T F L I X "Keir sent a huge amount of Native art- ists' music while I was in dailies, which was an incredible resource," Baclesse explained. "One of the things we found was that when it was used in the right spots, it worked great, but you wanted contrast. You didn't want things to be back-to-back with one thing or another, so we would go from score into a needle drop from a Native artist, then go back into score, and maybe then go into more of a pop artist." The rhythm and tone of the quick-mov- ing basketball sequences also had to be j u s t r i g h t . J a m e s , w h o s e S p r i n g h i l l Company co-produced the film, helped to be sure the basketball scenes were por- trayed accurately. "We were working right in the middle of his actual NBA basketball season," Baclesse said. "He was a little busy, but his producer Spencer [Beighley] showed him and Mav- erick Carter all of the basketball sequences to find out: are there any notes? Are there things that aren't feeling accurate? If this is a moment where they're supposed to be making a mistake, is that working?" But in addition to crafting the dramatic performances from the talented young actors in the edit, it was also important to allow opportunities for humor to shine through, Baclesse said. It took delicate shaping around what the actors were offer- ing in the dailies to find when they needed to go fast, and when they needed to let it breathe or to sit with a particular character for another moment. She said the team of editors — Justin Rosen (assistant editor) and Britini Robinson (apprentice editor), who were on the film from dailies through director's cut, and Elliott Traeger (addi- tional editor) and Noel Bohdan (assistant editor), who came on for studio cut/preview screening and picture lock/finishing — worked together to find the right balance. "One of the things that we realized is sure, we could cut out all the jokes and that would make the film move faster, but then we're losing a big cultural element of the humor that exists—and then it's not a full representation of this community," she added. "We have to always be vigilant about not cutting it so tight that we lose those kinds of moments that make it memorable, that make you feel really connected." The script's beauty was the foundation, she explained, but it's that connection to the characters and their emotional journey that can make an audience care and pulls them into the story. "Being able to bring people into a world t h ey m i g h t n o t k n ow a ny t h i n g a b o u t , or that they have preconceived notions about, I think is really special," Baclesse said. "By allowing the Navajo people to be shown as messy and full of love and pain as much as anybody else—I think it is really important because it allows audiences to have a deeper understanding of the world and the communities around them, and hopefully challenges other types of very limited media portrayals that have existed for a long time." ■ F E A T U R E