As A Small Light progresses throughout its season, the sakes keep getting higher and higher. Told through the story of Miep Gies (played by Bel Powley), the secretary of Otto Frank as she helps the Frank family and other Jewish families go into hiding throughout the course of World War II. A Small Light puts viewers inside the shoes of a young woman working in the resistance in the 1940s, and showcases how an ordinary person can find themselves a hero in the midst of going throughout their day to day life as normal.
During SXSW’s 2023 Film & TV Festival, I got the opportunity to speak with A Small Light’s creators Joan Rater, Tony Phelan and Susanna Fogel about finding humor in times of tragedy, women in the resistance, and telling stories that matter.
Leia Mendoza: Something that Susanna said awhile back during her Sundance Collaboration meeting is that A Small Light is essentially about “A very funny person in a very serious situation.” As the showrunners, creators and directors, what would you say is the most interesting part of finding that balance, because those who were involved had no clue that they were about to be living in a major historical event?
Joan Rater: I mean, you said it. That was really important to us, because they didn’t know the end. They didn’t know what was happening, and as it was unfolding, they were probably going “So, is Amsterdam gonna be occupied? No! He wouldn’t. Will he?” So with those conversations and those dawning realizations, and when it comes, maybe it won’t be that bad, there was this relentless need to believe that it wouldn’t be as bad as it was going to be. It took place over a long period of time, the Occupation, and we wanted to show how that really looked like and how you keep living your life. You’re still going shopping, you’re still going to dinners and meeting friends, but your world is slowly gradually turning really dark and very scary. But, at the same time, there’s this belief that surely we live in this modern world, it can’t be this bad. So, just what you said, that juxtaposition was very key to us.
Tony Phelan: I think that the humor is in the show because all of us rely on humor in the worst of times. That was very true to us, to maintain Miep’s sense of humor and everyone’s sense of humor, because when faced with these unthinkable things, you crack jokes about them.
LM: Something that I liked was the representation of girlhood. As a young woman, I feel like there hasn’t really ever been representation of a young woman working in the Resistance, but also someone who wasn’t entirely interested in even getting married. What did you guys find interesting about writing and developing a story essentially about girlhood.
Susanna Fogel: I mean, I was going to let Tony take this one! [laughs] I mean, I’m not the writer, so I’m happy to let you talk about that and I can talk about directing.
JR: Sure! I mean, look, we wanted to tell this story about a woman who was constantly being underestimated and that was her superpower. We wanted to show all of the facets of girlhood, and it’s not just kickass resistance. With resistance comes vulnerability and fear, we wanted to show that that’s a really beautiful thing, to have doubt and fear, and still continue to persevere. We wanted to show a very fleshed out girl who is doing girlhood in the most powerful way in the most extraordinary circumstances.
SF: I mean, yeah, I can’t beat that! [laughs] I think there’s a compulsion to make female characters only be strong now because we’re trying to overcorrect years of just having women be like, pathetic romcom women. There are female characters who don’t really have an interior life because they’re strong all the time. But the truth is, as women, we always grow up with messages that are weird and gendered no matter what. There were different expectations placed on Miep that were different from what was placed on her brothers. But, also, Miep makes mistakes like most young people do. She’s not always making the right choices as a wife or a friend, she doesn’t know when to lie or to tell the truth sometimes.
JR: If you look at Miep, she was so progressive in the 30s. She had zero desire to get married, when that was what you did if you were a young woman. She was just sort of indifferent to it. She ended up getting married for very practical reasons, which I love about her too. She didn’t have this very romantic ideal of the marriage. Even though she loved her husband.
SF: It was a green card marriage, basically.
JR: She then got married for practical reasons, and she was a real progressive woman living in these times.
LM: It’s like a realistic way of how she got married at the time.
SF: Yeah!
LM: You all have worked on a variety of different projects, whether it’s on film or TV. Since you guys have worked on this project for so long, what is something that you are going to take with you from A Small Light that you’re going to carry with you for the rest of your careers?
JR: Oh wow, you ask the big questions! [laughs]
LM: [laughs] I’m so sorry!
SF: No, don’t apologize! It’s actually great! Work with Bel Powley.
TP: Yes, work with Bel Powley! I mean, I think in a weird way, that would be the answer I would give. You collect people along the way that you work with and you’re like “Oh, these people are really good at what they do”, and we share an aesthetic. There were so many people on this project that I would work again with in a heartbeat. That was great, and we shared a passion to share this project and make sure it was right.
JP: Tell stories that are worth several years of your life. Make sure you’re telling stories that you really care about.
SF: That’s a really good lesson too. Make sure that if another thing that was really meaningful came along, you wouldn’t be regretting what you’re doing. You wouldn’t be like “I wish I wasn’t doing this, because of this other thing!” If you feel like this is the thing, then you’re in the right job.
A Small Light is now streaming on Disney+ and National Geographic. New episodes come out every Monday. This article was written for SXSW’s 2023 Film & TV Festival.