I Don’t Make The Rules
NARRATIVE | 10 – 15 MIN. | PEOPLE OF COLOR, WORKPLACE
An ex-pro football player struggles to survive on blue collar odd jobs and will do whatever it takes to land an entry level office job at a law firm.
But What Does It Mean?
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Even when we feel that we have a sense of a film’s meaning, there is often more to uncover.
Watch this video to better understand the film and why we selected it for the festival.
CLICK TO EXPLORE THE FILM'S THEMES
Write about a time when you acted in a way that you regret. Include the feelings that lead you to act the way you did, and include the impacts of your behavior, real or imagined. Now, write the other story of what should have been. Write the story of how you wished you had dealt with the bad behavior, of how you wished you could have done things differently afterwards as a way to rid yourself of the guilt. Take responsibility? Apologize? Consider taking action now.
Meet the Filmmaker
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Lawrence Chen is an award-winning film and commercial director based in NYC. His childhood was a blend of cultures, first growing up in the US and then moving to China, and has influenced him greatly as a storyteller. He’s worked as a director on a $40mm sci-fi feature in Beijing, the Netflix doc series Rotten, and narrative shorts that explore immigration, race, and the pursuit of the ‘American Dream.’ He is currently developing feature projects about the untold and underrepresented stories of the immigrant experience.
Law’s work has garnered multiple awards at film and advertising festivals, including twenty Cannes Lions. Online, his work has received Vimeo Staff Picks as well as Short of the Week, and has amassed tens of millions of views. He is currently represented by Stink Films for commercials and UTA for Film and Television.
WHY THEY MADE THE FILM
“With I Don’t Make The Rules, I wanted to tell the ‘unsuccess’ story. The underdogs that never won. The ex-football players that never made it into the league, who now have to work blue collar odd jobs to make ends meet. Their bodies have taken a beating through training, games, and now manual labor jobs. They want to get off their feet and be able to just sit down at a desk in an office. They want a stable career that puts food on the table and provides medical coverage for their injury-riddled bodies. They want a community and not have to fight this battle alone. But even against the odds, they use what they know to survive. This film is inspired by the story of lead actor Myles Humphus, of the years following his stint in the NFL.“
Your Turn: What did YOU think of this film?
3 Comments
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The guilt in denying the competition a chance and then accepting the position he got unethically makes the story of Steve heartbreaking. He will never be the same. And the person he will be working with is NOT a lawyer, as he claimed on the sidewalk. He’s a low level admin clerk. The two of them in the same office will make strange working colleagues. Steve fell to the level of the character he remonstrated before the interview. Not wonderful for his self esteem.
Tough and wrenching film…desperation in decision chosen
When you want and desire something so badly…. that your willing to crush the person next to you to get it, lie or compromise your morals. This is very telling of a person for better or worse. Sure, you can’t bake a cake with out breaking a few eggs; but life has a lot of regrets. the point of life is to live with the least amount.