Emily Macrander’s short film Rave takes a vivid look at the thrill and risk within rave culture, showing how one split second decision can change everything. I spoke with Emily and discussed how she challenges negative assumptions surrounding race culture, celebrating the sense of community while promoting awareness and safety.
To start off, where did your passion for film begin?
My passion for film began with a love for stories. Watching or reading them, and then also telling them. As a kid, I would come up with little narratives and direct my friends to act them out. That was probably my first experience of shaping a world through storytelling. At some point, I realised that this is something people actually do for a living. And from then on, I knew I wanted to be a director.
I was around eight years old when I got my first camera. I started filming anything I thought was worth remembering. Even if it seemed random at the time. It was my way of capturing moments and turning them into something more. That desire to tell stories, to build a world that reflects how I see or imagine things. That’s still what draws me to filmmaking today.
The club scenes in Rave are masterfully done! How did you find working with that many extras and trying to create that sort of atmosphere?
Thank you! When I first wrote those scenes, part of me was already thinking: How are we going to do this on a budget without it looking staged? But luckily, I didn’t let that influence the writing. I just wrote what the film needed.
That said, I was very aware of how difficult it can be to direct a room full of people and make it feel authentic. So when my producer Kate came on board, I suggested that to really capture the kind of atmosphere we wanted – something claustrophobic and chaotic, but also full of energy and life – we should throw real parties. Where people were just out having a good time, and we’d film in the middle of it.
Everyone you see in the background of those scenes wasn’t acting. They were just doing their thing at the club where we shot. That approach made it possible for me to focus entirely on the protagonists, while the atmosphere around them happened naturally. It was completely uncontrolled, but it gave us exactly what I had envisioned.
What made you decide to create the film in reverse chronology?
I had the idea for Rave for a while. Mainly centred around the core conflict of a girl overdosing at a rave. But as a story, that never quite worked for me. You’d build up to this big moment, and then the story just ended. There wasn’t anything driving it beyond that climax.
So I sat with it for a while, not really knowing how to approach it. Until I figured out that the story might work better if it ran backwards. Starting with the overdose shifted the whole focus. It became less about leading up to one dramatic moment and more about unpacking the choices and events that led there.
And that is what the film is really about. Looking back on a night out, thinking about the things you did or didn’t do, and how those choices added up. Whether the outcome is good or bad, it’s rooted in that sense of reflection. Trying to piece together how you got to where you are now.
Was it always the plan to structure the film so that the events play out backwards? If so, how was the development stage different to other projects you’ve been apart of, that follow a conventional structure?
Yes, the reverse structure was already part of the script from the start. And that’s how we approached it during pre-production as well. In terms of development, it wasn’t drastically different from other projects. But there were definitely some unique challenges that came with the unconventional timeline.
One of the main difficulties was understanding continuity. Not just in terms of plot, but in terms of emotion. Usually, a character’s emotional state flows from one scene to the next. But in Rave, that flow was disrupted. The emotional state at the end of one scene didn’t naturally carry over into the next, because that “next” scene actually takes place earlier in the timeline. As a director, that meant I had to be constantly aware of where each character was emotionally at any given moment. And make sure that still felt coherent in reverse.
I think that’s also what made the project really exciting. It became a unique selling point. Something that everyone involved saw as a creative challenge worth taking on. This was especially true in post-production, which is where we faced the biggest hurdles.
Editing a story that unfolds backwards forces you to rethink pacing, transitions, and narrative rhythm entirely. My editor, Billy, and I spent a lot of time experimenting with how scenes connect when they’re not following a traditional cause-and-effect structure. It took some trial and error, but in the end we found an approach that really worked for the film and delivered the emotional impact we were aiming for.
You’ve noted how your intention was not to demonise rave culture or pass any judgement – but to encourage people to be more cautious of their choices. What would you like the audience to take away from this film?
Exactly. It was never my intention to demonise rave culture. It wouldn’t be right to dive into a subculture like this for a film and then come out the other side just criticising it. Especially when I actually really value and enjoy that culture myself. I have a lot of respect for the scene and the sense of freedom and connection it offers. At the same time, Rave begins with (or ends with, depending on how you look at it) something tragic, and I don’t think that should be romanticised either.
But the film isn’t about blaming a culture. It’s about the individual choices we make in those moments. When everything feels free and intense and exciting, but also surreal and potentially dangerous. I want audiences to come away with a sense of awareness. To feel that yes, this is something joyful and worth celebrating – dancing, raving, being surrounded by people and music – but also to be conscious of how quickly things can shift. Especially when substances are involved.
Ideally, I don’t want people to leave the film thinking, I’m never going to a club again. I want them to feel the opposite: I want to go out right now. I want to be in that crowd. I want to feel the music. But I also want them to make good choices. That’s the balance I hope the film leaves people with.
Are there any filmmakers or artists that influence your work? And, more specifically, did you have any key inspirations for this film’s cinematography?
References are always a big part of how I work and communicate as a director. I watch a lot of films, read about them, and I definitely have favourite directors whose work I follow closely. But my influences tend to shift with each project, so it’s hard to point to just one or two names consistently.
For Rave, one key reference – both visually and emotionally – was Victoria by Sebastian Schipper. It was something I talked about a lot with both the lead actress, Beth, and my cinematographer, Dylan. It really captured the kind of energy and atmosphere we were going for. Another big inspiration, especially in terms of tone and intensity, was Climax by Gaspar Noé.
And while there are obviously films that use reverse chronology which helped us think through the structure, Victoria and Climax were the main touchpoints when it came to look and feel.
Since you wrote the screenplay and went on to direct it, did you find you made many changes on set, or did your final draft remain intact?
Aside from a few adjustments in language – mainly to help the actors feel more comfortable and bring their own personalities into the roles – we stuck to the script quite closely. We had planned a lot in advance, and I had many detailed conversations with Dylan, the cinematographer, about how things should look and feel. So it was really rewarding to see what I had imagined on the page actually come to life during the shoot.
One of the advantages of directing something you’ve written is that you know the material inside out. You know exactly why every moment is there, what it’s building toward, and how it fits into the whole. That kind of understanding gives you a lot of confidence on set. And because Rave has a fairly unconventional structure, having that strong foundation in the script was especially valuable for me as a director.
Do you have any advice for other young people with a strong interest in filmmaking? Especially those hoping to write and direct!
I’d say, just do it, and do it as much as you can. You really learn by doing. And unfortunately, you often need something to show people to convince them you can actually do it. So don’t wait for permission or the perfect moment.
Grab anyone around you – whether they’re interested in film or not – and start making the films you want to make, even if it’s on a tight budget. I don’t think budget limitations should ever stop you. If anything, they can push you to get more creative and find new ways of telling stories.
And also: be kind. Be generous with your time. Do favours. That’s often how you’ll build the relationships that make it possible to get people on board for your own projects. In the end, it’s about being proactive, working on your ideas, and building something with others, even if it starts small.
And, finally, what is next for you? Tell us about any upcoming projects, where you hope your passion will take you, and what you’re most looking forward to in the future! We can’t wait to see what you do next!
Thank you! I’m currently close to finishing my first feature script, which has been a big and difficult step forward. But one I’m really ready and excited to take. It’s been a real learning curve, but also a natural progression from the stories I’ve told so far.
At the same time, I’ve been exploring the documentary format more recently by shooting and researching a project in Hamburg, Germany. It’s a completely different way of working, and one I’ve really enjoyed for the new perspective it brings.
I’m also still very committed to short films. I think short-form storytelling is a medium in its own right. Some stories simply belong in that format, and it shouldn’t be seen only as a stepping stone to features. That’s actually why Kate, the producer of Rave, and I started the short film production company House on Fire to support and enable more people to make the films they want to make, regardless of scale.
Alongside that, I’m continuing to work on music videos and smaller creative projects that keep me creatively curious and challenged. I’m based between London and Berlin, and sometimes Amsterdam, which has opened up so many great opportunities to collaborate with different people and communities.
Connecting with others is one of the things I value most, and I hope to keep doing that. So if anyone’s interested in chatting, collaborating, asking for advice, or just having a coffee, I’d love to connect!
