12 Dec Philadelphia Artist Spotlight: Tommy Butler

BY IREASHIA BENNETT

The cinéSPEAK Journal publishes a monthly Philadelphia Artist Spotlight highlighting local filmmakers and moving image artists doing unique and impactful work.

Tommy Butler is a director, writer, and instructor whose recent narrative film, The World Takes, tackles nuanced issues such as class, fragility, and masculinity. The synopsis reads: “The power is out, the heat is off, and the family car is on the back of a tow truck when Joop, at 11 years old, discovers the cost of living.” Pulling from his lived experiences in Trenton, NJ, Butler takes the audience into a moment that captures the transition from childhood to adulthood in just ten minutes.

Butler’s films have screened at festivals across the country, including the Academy Award-Qualifying Palm Springs International ShortFest and New Hampshire Film Festival, Salute Your Shorts Film Festival, and recently at the 2023 Philadelphia Film Festival. In addition to his narrative work, Butler is an Adjunct Professor at Temple University in the Film and Media Arts Department and a Philadelphia-based commercial director and producer. In 2023, Butler received his MFA in Film and Media Arts from Temple University.

The cinéSPEAK Journal spoke with Butler about his latest film and what it means to cultivate a culture of care on production sets.

cinéSPEAK: What inspired you to be a filmmaker?

Tommy Butler: It was a long and winding road getting here (I didn’t make my first short film until I was 30!), but I’ve always been drawn to creative collaboration. I got my start in theater, so the transition from stage to screen felt like a natural next step at the time. At a certain point, I stopped imagining my characters on a stage in front of a live audience, and I started dreaming of characters in the elements. When I closed my eyes, I felt like I was with the characters, right alongside them, so I thought maybe the screen would be a good vehicle for these new (and maybe even kind of intrusive) visions I was having. I dropped it all, made a pivot, and haven’t really looked back. Regardless of medium, though, there are few things I love more than that feeling you get when you look around the room and realize there [is] a group of people all pointed in the same direction, walking down the same path, and they’re all reaching to try and make something special. That’s what inspires me most— that’s the feeling I’m chasing.

cinéSPEAK: How did you get started on your most recent media project, The World Takes?

TB: I find events in my life that are turning points. It became clear to me that the eviction my family experienced, [and the one central to] The World Takes, represents two things to me: [first,] the end of my childhood. Once you’re evicted from a house, that’s a wrap. Your house, as a child, is a very protective zone–it feels like yours. You’re not quite aware of all the circumstances and things that have to go right in order for you to keep that house. I was really interested that this single event could capture that transition. The other transition is how easily a family can slip from middle class to lower class, how naturally it can happen, and how suddenly. One of my goals with the project was to let go of any shame I felt and understand that this was a part of my life. There are a lot of other people who have experienced similar transitions.

cinéSPEAK: What topics and themes are you exploring in your current work?

TB: As a director and writer of narrative films, a critical throughline in all my work has been masculinity and male vulnerability as it collides with the contemporary American experience—[one] defined for me by class struggle and economic despair. This is my “point of entry” for The World Takes. My films, though fictional in nature, tend to start with a personal or autobiographical experience. Once I have the initial spark, I then build [the] story and characters around that experience so that I can establish a foundation to support an in-depth personal investigation. I find that distancing myself from my reality by inventing story and character offers me the opportunity to rewrite a personal history.

cinéSPEAK: How has Philadelphia shaped and influenced the process and/or content of your work?

TB: I love Philadelphia and I love the film community here, so I’m sure that love and affection spills over into my work. A specific pocket of Philadelphia that means a great deal to me would be the Temple University film community. Not only did I graduate from the MFA program there, but I’ve also had the privilege of teaching there and I’m constantly impressed and really, really moved by our students. They’re doing some amazing work and I’m honored to be a small part of their artistic journey.

cinéSPEAK: What impact do you hope your work will have in the Philadelphia community?

TB: I spend a lot of time considering the Philadelphia community that rallies behind the creation of these projects. For that specific community, I hope they feel respected, encouraged, inspired, and motivated after our time together. I hope they’re proud of their efforts and contributions and they feel their voice was valued throughout the process. Most of all I hope they cherish our time together—I know I sure do. 

cinéSPEAK: Can you describe a moment during the production of The World Takes when you felt in flow and creatively aligned?

TB: There was just this moment [on set] where I looked around, and the actors–who were these young people–were locked in, the Director of Photography was locked in, [and] my Production Designer was locked in. I realized that the culture of a set and the culture of a production is more important than pretty much anything else; more than the art, more than the jobs that we might get from the art.

If you would like to keep up with Tommy Butler’s work, you can check out his website or follow him on Instagram @tcbscorps.

*Featured Image: Image of Tommy Butler behind the scenes for The World Takes. Image Credit: Jalen Ramseur-Williams.

Would you like to be featured in a future spotlight? Please fill out the Philadelphia Artist Spotlight form. The cinéSPEAK Journal maintains sole discretion over the publishing of any information provided via the form. Questions: journal@cinespeak.org

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Ireashia M. Bennett (they/them) is a Philadelphia-based filmmaker, photographer, and writer whose work aims to celebrate Black queer and disabled folks in the form of new media, short films, and photoessays. They earned a B.A. in Journalism from Columbia College Chicago and are pursuing an MFA in Film and Media