Movie Minute: Just a Drill

Film maker and mom Megan Jordan teamed up with an all female crew to make the hard hitting short 'Just A Drill'. 

Determined to follow the rules in an active shooter drill, an overworked teacher in an underfunded classroom battles the impossible choices a leader must make when the drill becomes a horrifying reality.

The short shows the reality of the difficult situation a lot of American students face, even if it is just a drill.

"A lot of us had our own children on set while filming as we are working Moms, the reality hit home of the situation teachers and students find themselves in," said producer Megan Jordan.

I had a chance to interview her to learn more. You can also watch the trailer. I had a chance to see the full short, and as a teacher, it was chilling, to say the least, and ends in a very open-ended way.

Why did you decide to create the film? I was drawn to the script right away when it came to me through the Women In Film.  I always want to have a reason or message in the content I create and this seemed like a really good fit.  Knowing it came from an authentic place really helped seal my commitment.  Having a young son and knowing that this issue could someday affect him made me want be a part of this and make sure it was handled with care and professionalism.

What gave the crew its unique perspective while working on the film? The writer / director is a former educator and had first hand experience with these kinds of drills.  She drew from this experience when she wrote the script and was there to facilitate the hard conversations we had about the subject.  Filming was really intense but because we were all passionate about the subject we were all able to bring our best work forward and make a really powerful film. 

What do you hope people get out of seeing the film? As much as we hear about these terrible events on the news, I think this film really shows the human toll and terror that is really felt.  So many people understand it is scary in the general sense, but being in a situation where any decision can be life or death in and of itself can be terrifying.  I would like people to really empathize with survivors of these tragic events and keep considering ways we can help them recover from the emotional trauma and prevent them from happening