Meet Rakefet Abergel

We recently connected with Rakefet Abergel and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rakefet, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?
There are always going to be people who want to bring you down, put you down, or otherwise diminish you. It is ALWAYS about them and not about you. If people want to hate on me, or my movies, or my opinions or beliefs, that is their right. But it doesn’t mean that I have to take it on as fact or let it affect me in any way. I just do what I do. If I know that I am doing the right or the good thing, then no one else’s opinion will change that.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am currently submitting my newest short film, STILL, to various film festivals around the world. STILL is third film produced by my production company, Cyclamen Films. STILL is based on my feelings around having a miscarriage a couple years ago.

You can watch a short teaser here: https://youtu.be/Jiga6DuDDR8?si=BQ2_zuTOW4-ysCu8

Having just come out of the COVID new world order, and then to lose the only pregnancy I’ve ever had, it definitely affected my mental health. I wanted to make a film that women could show other people to better explain the way they were feeling because for me it was sometimes hard to find the words to properly explain my pain. I thought that if I was able to express it visually, then people could find their own emotional connection to it and understand that type of grief better. In understanding, the hope is that there is more support and less judgement or taboo around the topic of miscarriage and infant loss.

I also wrote an original song for the film with Canadian folk/rock artist, Sarah Smith. With lyrics by me and Sarah, and music by Sarah Smith, “The Life We Never Had” is available on music streaming platforms everywhere, as well as part of a music video with clips from the film.

You can watch the music video here: https://youtu.be/4Igey2nSZZw?si=GPD9dIQHj6EfwdQg

STILL will be arriving on the film festival circuit soon and will be available online probably by the end of 2025.

It will also join my first two short films, JAX IN LOVE and BOO, on a compilation DVD called “LOVE SCARS”. The DVD will have all sorts of extras like trailers, behind the scenes featurettes, pictures, music videos and more. You can still get one by donating to our Marketing/Public Relations and submissions fund at: https://gofund.me/19da3c1a

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think that the ability to work without any supervision or encouragement is a very helpful skill to have when making your own content. No one is going to force you to sit down and write, or do things for you that you can’t pay them for! So you end up having to do a lot of it yourself. Find a way to self-discipline and make it happen!

The quality of resilience is also important. There are so many ways to get knocked down in this industry. You have to get used to hearing no, and getting back up to try again. I am convinced that it’s not the most talented people that succeed, because lots of people have talent. It’s the ability to be resilient that makes someone successful. So if you fail, get up and try again. And again. And again. And… again.

Write and make what you care about. It doesn’t have to be what you KNOW, but it does have to be something that means a lot to you because it takes a lot of work to create quality things, and you’re going to want to be spending that time and effort on something that matters to you. And you’ll WANT to, too. Don’t make what you think others want you to make or what the festivals are going to want. Just make what matters to you and it will already be a success.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
I have amazing parents. Truly. It’s hard to express how grateful I am for the kind of parents I have. One of the most impactful things they gave me, was their undying devotion, support and belief in me. Even when they wouldn’t have chosen a path that I was choosing, they still found a way to support and love me throughout. Even when they had their own limitations on what they would allow, they found a way to give me everything that I needed and then some. I wanted to be a child actor and my parents didn’t want me living that kind of life. But they paid for and took me to every acting class, piano lesson, dance class, music class, theater performance, etc. so that when I was older I could pursue my dream. And honestly, I thank them for making sure I had a real childhood, and not a working one.

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