Redefining Beauty: An Interview with Rose Grace Tuttle

There are special people who come along and ignite a spark inside you, unlike anyone else. Columbia University film student, Rose Grace Tuttle, is one such person. Coming from a small town called Bowdoinham, Maine, Rose has developed a natural talent for the arts with a lovely singing voice, acting range both on stage and on screen, and now applies her craft behind the camera. While Rose’s talents are undoubtedly impressive, they pale in comparison to her larger-than-life character. Rose has overcome personal health concerns and, through these struggles, has gained a perspective and a love for life that inform her work and inspire others.

The world is full of social pressures and beauty expectations, which we all fall victim to in one way or another. Rose is no exception, but her ambition to challenge these stigmas remains the driving force in her work. Rose is no stranger to sharing her story, as local Maine news was eager to report on her ambition when she was in high school. However, Frontrunner Magazine is honored to have sat down with her for an updated look at her upbringing in the arts, current work at Columbia, and her perspective on beauty standards.

You were a theatre kid for a long time, but sometime in high school, you switched your passion toward filmmaking. What made you come to that decision?

It’s one of those things that has always been with me. My mom is a photographer, and when I was three or four, I got creative with her iPod. I made little videos of myself, my brother, and my friends. I would always make little stories like that every weekend, and as I got older, they became more dynamic. Shooting and editing videos have always been a big part of my life. Meanwhile, I’ve been in the theatre since I was five. My theatre director once told me, “Theatre is a mirror of life; what we do on stage reflects what we do in life.” I saw that with filmmaking, too. Storytelling is a means of reflecting what we learn in life. I love capturing the small details of life, which are unique to films because cameras capture scenery and images you don’t get in the theatre. On stage, we have to use a lot of imagination, which has its qualities, but I love engaging with real places and people on a film set. I made a documentary short in my junior year of high school, highlighting student stories, and I learned a lot from the experience, which I carry with me in all my projects.

Your senior high school project was the short film 5 Facts on Recovery, which dealt with eating disorders as the main subject – from what I’ve looked up, you were even interviewed by local Maine news stations about it. Would you like to describe the making of the film and your experience of putting your personal story out there?

After the documentary, I knew I could do this, and that I loved filmmaking. So, it was time to test myself. This was the first time I wrote a screenplay. Around this time, I was in my recovery stage after suffering from anorexia throughout high school. I was hesitant to share these struggles, but I learned a lot through recovery and felt ready to let people know what I went through. I connected with Nat Warren White, who became my mentor. He was an incredible director and taught me so much about acting and life in general. He encouraged me to put my story out there, and he stayed in my corner the entire time. In the film itself, I left Rey’s – the main character – disorder ambiguous so the story could speak more to the entire culture. Also, recovery is different for everyone, so I didn’t want to limit the message strictly to my experience. Previously, only my parents knew of my disorder, but opening up to Nat and eventually to others gave me the confidence to address it in my work.

Transitioning to Columbia and your own personal work now, you’ve made a few music videos on your Instagram page Rose Tuttle Photography. Some of the music includes Lotus Eater by FINNEAS, Camden by Gracie Abrams, and an upcoming one with Lady Gaga. How do these music video ideas come to you? Song choices, locations you pick to film, scenes you perform, etc.?

Great question! Every day, I imagine what things look like through the lens of a filmmaker. What I mean is that, for anything I see and hear – places, songs, and encounters – I wonder how I can turn it into a film. My choices affect a viewer’s perspective because I’m sharing my emotions. Sheepish [Lotus Eater] represented a point in my life when I was experiencing extreme emotional shifts after my first breakup. The film is about my thought process at that moment: I feel this way, why do I feel this way, it’s stupid that I feel this way, and it’s okay to feel this way. All my music videos are about points in my life like that and what I felt, yes, but also the beauty of going through it. Quick plug: I have a long list of ideas to put to film, so be on the lookout!

Your work addresses beauty standards and the pressures to be healthy. So, please tell us, what is your philosophy on beauty as a concept?

First thing, we have different forms of beauty. There are many things that are good and bad, but the main things I focus on are 1) conventional beauty, the kind that society looks at and deems “beautiful,” and then 2) unconventional beauty. The question is, what do people consider beautiful? Beauty is powerful in how it gets people to notice things, and that transfers naturally to filmmaking. If you want someone to pay attention, make it beautiful. Things go awry when we base ourselves on beauty alone, especially when it’s based on a construct alone. Having gone through my experiences, I’m emotionally at a place where I see beauty differently. I used to believe that conventional beauty defined my worth as a person, but after degrading my life to fit that idea, I realized how immaterial it is. We can find beauty in the uniqueness of life.

You seem to feel comfortable facing your personal struggles through storytelling, which many artists do. For some, however, exploring painful experiences is overwhelming. How do you navigate your emotions while confronting these tough – even dark – parts of yourself?

Sometimes, even if I’m uncomfortable with something, I think holding myself accountable and moving forward is necessary. Not isolating yourself and sharing your emotions with others helps with that. I realize that I’m not alone because others struggle with these issues, too. So, they deserve to know. I’ve been able to connect with others and make them comfortable with their struggles. One of my strategies, as with 5 Facts on Recovery, is humor. Comedy is a great way to entertain, but it also makes the subject relatable. I satirize diet culture, which is funny, but it also makes people aware of what’s happening to others.