Rachel French grew up in Fountain City “in a household of nerds” as she refers to her close-knit family. Little did her parents realize that showing her Star Wars at 2 years old would define a life of adventure and film. Rachel describes her day-to-day passion that resulted: “I definitely have an appreciation for older movies and the feeling of nostalgia which definitely has impacted my journey so far. I am always chasing the feeling I get from watching an incredible movie.” This is her day-to-day drive.

The early family influence on Rachel’s journey to the film industry was not so easily defined when she graduated from high school after spending her senior year struggling through the Covid pandemic. Unsure of a future path, she followed a friend to Roane State Community College where she spent two years pursuing a career in dental hygiene. A diagnosis with Crohn’s disease caused her to realize, “I want to do what I want to do, because life’s just too short and I never know what unexpected thing is around the corner.”

Realizing she was planning on entering a career she had no interest in, she changed direction, attending the University of Tennessee for film.

Despite her family’s movie fanaticism, Rachel was nervous to tell her them about the drastic change in plans, but she says, “they have been nothing but supportive along this journey.”

Fast forward three years and Rachel is working in the industry she has loved since she was a child, filming for Loch and Key Productions. Describing the “incredible moments” she has experienced in her role, she says, “I am blown away at all the opportunities Loch and Key has given me as a woman in film.”

Those opportunities have included filming one of her favorite artists, Noah Kahan, at Railbird, a music festival in Lexington, Kentucky. Recalling how Noah’s music has helped her through some difficult times, she says, “I couldn’t believe that I got to be right below him, in the pit with a camera filming him. It was definitely life changing and I knew that this feeling was similar to the nostalgia feeling I’ve been chasing.”

Rachel credits the success she is experiencing to mentors Ben Fields and Ryan Dailey who have helped her overcome the self-doubt that makes it “hard for me to believe that I belong in this space, and although I know their validation will not fulfill me fully until I believe it myself, their words of affirmation are without a doubt, game changers in overcoming this hurdle. I can safely say I could not have made it this far without Ben and Ryan.”

Rachel uses her skills to help balance her work life and personal life. She creates fun short films recapping a trip, specialized homemade cards or random DIY projects. In addition, she exercises 5-6 times a week, hikes, plays pickleball and basketball, all of which has kept the Crohn’s under control.

Rachel plans to continue to grow and learn at Loch and Key, looking forward to achieving the goal of DP (director of photography) on a big project, commercial or passion.

She and her boyfriend, Layton, who has been another inspiration for Rachel, envision adding a member to their family soon … a Whippet puppy!

Rachel lives the inspiration she has adopted from Shakespeare’s Hamlet class: “To be or not to be: that is the question.”

Why this quote? “I think about being – choosing what is hard and uncomfortable, but rewarding, or not to be – remaining in your comfort zone and never pushing yourself because you’re afraid.

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