Why 'Rat Rod,' Our Narrative of Immigration and Frankenstein Vehicles, Needed to Be a Short Film

      Jared Jakins and Carly Jakins are Emmy-nominated documentary filmmakers and life partners based in the rural American West. Their feature film debut in 2022, *Scenes From the Glittering World*, aired on ITVS’s Independent Lens, and their work has also been showcased by POV, the Los Angeles Times, Vimeo Staff Picks, and The Atlantic. Below, Jared Jakins discusses their decision to create the short documentary “Rat Rod,” presented by Switchboard Magazine.

      We were almost done hanging paper tablecloths using a mix of fishing line and gaff tape when we heard the first CLANG!

      To the best of our knowledge, my producer and I were the only ones in the auto body shop. It could have been a garbage can falling over or maybe some sheet metal blowing in the wind. It was after hours, and the shop was dark except for a few flickering overhead fluorescent lights. We interpreted the sudden scare as supernatural encouragement, aligned with our goal: to create an apparition.

      Our ghost would come to life on camera with the aid of fans and some puppeteering by our co-director, Carly Jakins. As I stepped back to assess our billowing sheets, their peaks resembling eerie white hoods, the team and I felt confident that we had captured our visual concept. That moment solidified my belief that the narrative we were creating was meant to be a documentary short film. The film, “Rat Rod,” portrays a family friend, Jorge Ramirez, and his journey from Mexico City to rural Utah during the 1990s. Jorge, who began as a mechanic constructing stunt bicycles, later discovered his passion for car building. He is a skilled creator of “rat rods,” unique cars built from the parts of other vehicles.

      As an immigrant myself, I see in Jorge’s journey an embodiment of the American ideal of “e pluribus unum”—out of many, one.

      **The Backstory of ‘Rat Rod’**

      “Rat Rod,” provided by Switchboard Magazine.

      Jorge and my father have been friends for years, and he shared stories about his life as a young immigrant in America. What resonated with me was not only the stories themselves, which were traumatic and impactful, but also the haunted manner in which Jorge recounted his experiences. This tone, more than the narrative content, prompted me to delve deeper. I aimed to explore the lingering specter of unresolved trauma. I believed that the essence of this pursuit would be best captured through a short film. Whenever I start a project, I ask myself: “What medium will best serve this story?” Too often, filmmakers default to film as the medium, even when the story could be conveyed more effectively through another artistic form. They do not actively consider how film might uniquely illuminate a subject.

      Film can deeply explore our internal experiences and memories, akin to the written word, but it also holds the distinct ability to capture presence. As a time-based medium, it allows us to connect with a person and their thoughts. This fosters a temporal relationship unconfined by physical distance; through film, we can share moments and experiences with someone who may be far away—or even someone who has passed. Even more fascinating is how that shared time can spring from the intricacies of memory or the fleeting nature of dreams. I believe the documentary short film is where these strengths shine most vividly, though it is often underutilized.

      The short film format is frequently seen as a preliminary exercise or a showcase of a filmmaker's capability to produce a feature-length film. This perspective often compresses the structures and themes of a feature into a short, diluting the experience. While this may effectively convey information, it can lead to a shallow exploration of the subject. Shorts tend to benefit from a more focused and intimate approach. I don’t claim to have mastered this art, but I endeavor to incorporate these principles in my work. In creating “Rat Rod,” I continually reassessed my methods until I found a satisfying resolution. I realized I could present Jorge’s stories across various media, but only through a short documentary could I genuinely navigate his haunted memories.

      Determining that a short film was the right medium for Jorge was just the beginning. He is not an actor, so expecting him to convey the nuances of his feelings in a performance was unrealistic. After discussing with Jorge how he perceives his memories, we decided on a visual approach: we would externalize Jorge’s trauma through a ghostly apparition.

      “Rat Rod,” provided by Switchboard Magazine.

      We drew inspiration from the horror genre (with John Carpenter’s *Christine* being a significant influence) and utilized practical effects to dramatize our eerie concept.

      We felt that the idea of representing an apparition to portray trauma might become tedious in a feature-length film and wouldn’t effectively translate to written or audio formats. Thus, we proceeded with confidence in our choice of a short documentary as the ideal medium for this narrative. Soon, we found ourselves hanging sheets from the