When an ancient ritual involving a salad bowl determines who must lay their life on the line, an otherwise easy-going woman fights against tradition to potentially save herself.
Director’s Vision for ‘Rite of Way’
Rite of Way is a dark comedy inspired by two very real things: my deep concern for the American education system, and the time I joined a cult for fun.
What might have been a mundane back-to-school faculty meeting becomes, in this film, a full-blown cult ritual, where new teacher Cherie is chosen by a ceremonial bowl to make the ultimate sacrifice — though what that entails, you’ll have to watch to find out. What begins as a selfish protest on Cherie’s part spirals into a reluctant journey of camaraderie (in the true sense of comrades as fellow soldiers), as she discovers the support of her jaded (but fiercely loyal) colleagues.
The idea came from watching people I love burn out in the classroom. A close friend of mine, after earning a master’s and landing her dream job as a high school English teacher, left three years later to become a lawyer, because that seemed less stressful. That stuck with me.
Teachers are overworked, underpaid, and still somehow tasked with shaping the future for little thanks. I wanted to express the surreal pressure they live under, and after experiencing the manipulation of a real-life cult seminar (I joined knowingly, I’m fine, I promise), the parallel became clear. In some systems, sacrifice isn’t just expected. It’s ritualized.
I set out to make a film that embraces absurdity but never loses its emotional footing. The tone is satirical, grounded, and slightly off-kilter, blending the heightened tension of a ceremonial rite with the fluorescent banality of a school gym.
This is my first short film, and I’m incredibly proud of what we built. It was a joy to work with such a sharp and generous cast and crew, who brought the world of Rite of Way to life with humor, empathy, and just the right amount of madness.
