Meet Matalin Racster | Director & Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Matalin Racster and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matalin, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I am from Indiana, famously the location for any book or television show where they want the audience to feel like the characters are seriously in the middle of nowhere. When I was growing up, all I could think about was getting out of town and following my dreams. Now, as we all do, I look back on my time in Indiana with a great deal of nostalgia. I sort of lived on this weird line – I was a town kid while most of my best friends lived on farms. We came to my house if we wanted the option to walk to Arby’s, and we went to theirs if we wanted the option to ride a horse or jump out of a tall tree. both of my parents mostly took on odd jobs throughout my teens and into my early twenties now, and that sort of stable instability has had a huge influence on the way I see the world. We’re all sort of discovering who we are as a family in unison, which is really terrifying. I’m proud of growing up in a haunted town in the renaissance faire family, even if it means I don’t tend to take anything seriously at all.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I used to have a lot of ideas about what “sets me apart” from others, but over time I’m finding, for better or for worse, that for each thing I conceptualize there are a million similar versions of that already in existence. In the face of this, I have tried to make peace with the fact that the only things that matter are the things that are honest and fun to create.

Recently, I have been on sort of a marathon, creatively. I released a short film and an EP and a music video all in one foul swoop, and now I’m trying to regain some consciousness after the recent-release jitters are starting to subside. It’s humbling to put out a piece of work you’ve been really focused on for months, then to wake up the next morning and pour a hot americano on your bare arm at 7 am.

The last year has been the most eventful, challenging, and creatively inspired year of my life. I moved around a lot, bouncing between LA and the midwest and now New York City. A lot of people talk about how graduating college can be this horrifying, lonely, confusing time in your life and I’m here to confirm this as true. Most of my writing has been about the horrors and terrors of floating around, trying to make friends, discovering that my experience is very human and sometimes awful inbetween all the magic.

Mostly, I’m excited about the EP right now and I feel like I’m getting to do something I didn’t think I’d ever do. I still consider myself a filmmaker first and foremost, and honestly this whole music thing has just been an excuse to make music videos, but I think it has been really valuable to step out of my comfort zone and make something that I’m not used to.

I want the people who come across anything I make to leave their reading or viewing experience feeling like anything is possible, because anything really is possible. Obviously fame and money and living a David Dobrick lifestyle are all things that are fairly out of our control, but there’s still some hope if you are willing to have an experience that doesn’t depend on an insane result. The actual act of making art is something a lot of us midwestern dreamers see as a “thing we might get to do eventually,” but I sincerely believe it’s time for the midwest princesses to just start doing the things they are afraid to do.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I actually had a friend recently ask me for some recommendations in LA, so let me reference my text to her real quick.

First off, I take everyone to Shatto Lanes in Koreatown for bowling. I spent a lot of time at Bar Henry in Echo Park for their espresso martinis, Checker Hall for the vibes, and Cafe Triste for good wine. After a long night out, we have to go to the main street at Larchmont for sandwiches at Larchmont wine and cheese. I worked at The Crow in Santa Monica for a while, and there’s always great comedy shows in the lineup whether you’re looking for some weird indie stuff or your usual gorgeous famous comedians.
I tend to circulate between Bird’s Nest Cafe, Pine and Crane, and Pizzanista for food and hope my guests never notice that I’m taking them to the same three places over and over again.

I think there’s tons of great experiences, restaurants, and random things in LA but honestly, the really great thing about it is that everyone who was talented in their hometown just moved here with no fans and no money and a lot of them are putting on really amazing shows in the corners of dive bars. I forget everywhere I ever went to see these types of things, so I’m going to accidently gatekeep, but anyone in the Los Angeles greater area should be seeking out indie music and comedy shows as often as possible.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents and my brother. I have been floating under the guidance of so many friends and mentors on my journey, but I seriously couldn’t have done anything I’ve ever done if it weren’t for my family. My brother introduced me to the world of filmmaking when we were really young. He got a flip camera and figured out how to make a youtube channel, and over the course of about a decade we consistently uploaded sketches and short films made in our backyard. He helped me realize my dream of being a director, as these unofficial sets of ours were always most fun for me when I got to tell everyone what to do. My parents have supported me endlessly – my dad is a truck driver and constantly picks up extra rides to help fund whatever project I’m working on next, and without his support there wouldn’t be much of what there is. My mom is of course always there to talk through new ideas. My friends are there to help me see these ideas all the way through, especially Melanie, and especially especially Erik. Basically, If I had to do anything by myself I wouldn’t have done it at all.

Website: matalinracster.com

Instagram: @amatiln

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeFCJFtzxONARaUT_CFXHOg