FOLCS was proud to partner with IFC Films to offer an advance screening of breakout indie thriller, The Novice. On Thursday, December 16th, 2021 FOLCS was joined by director Lauren Hadaway and actress Isabelle Fuhrman for a conversation on high-achievement becoming obsession, and making this harrowing psychological experience jump off the screen.
In The Novice Isabelle Fuhrman plays Alex Dall, a queer college freshman who joins her university’s rowing team and undertakes an obsessive physical and psychological journey to make it to the top varsity boat, no matter the cost. Intent on outperforming her teammates, Alex pushes herself to her limits and beyond, alienating everyone around her in the name of success.
Furhman’s fierce lead performance collides with Lauren Hadaway’s bold direction and dynamic editing, creating a visceral window into a cutthroat world. Stylish cinematography and a seductive soundtrack complete the experience, evoking the romance and danger of falling in love; the attraction, the drama, and the fallout. This unapologetic debut from Hadaway, based on her personal experience as a competitive collegiate rower, heralds a bold new voice in queer storytelling.
Lauren Hadaway
Director, Writer, Editor
As a filmmaker, Lauren Hadaway has built a successful career through a unique combination of grit, creative vision, and focus.
Five years ago, she gave herself the goal of writing and directing her first feature. That film, The Novice, has garnered multiple awards and critical acclaim during its festival run, including its premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival where it won the Best U.S. Narrative Feature Film prize, as well as best actress and cinematography for Isabelle Fuhrman and Todd Martin, respectively. Inspired by her own experience rowing competitively in college, the film will be released by IFC on December 17.
After graduating with a double major in business and film from Southern Methodist University and moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in sound design, Lauren set her sights on working with one of her idols – Quentin Tarantino – and three years later she was in a recording studio with him, as the dialogue supervisor on The Hateful Eight.
She went on to have a very successful career in sound editing and mixing, working on many major feature film titles, including Justice League (both cuts), The Conjuring 2, and Whiplash.
Lauren, who is LGBTQ+, was a 2018 Outfest Screenwriting Lab Fellow.
Born and raised in a town formerly known as Possum Trot, Texas, Lauren was deeply influenced to become a filmmaker by a chance viewing of Tarantino’s Kill Bill as a teenager. She now resides in Paris where she is working on future projects.
Isabelle Fuhrman
Actress
Isabelle recently wrapped on Esther, reprising her infamous role from the 2009 horror film, Orphan. Pre-shutdown, Isabelle starred in the indie film The Novice which has since been selected to premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. She also starred in The Last Thing Mary Saw at the end of 2019. Isabelle is especially proud of her work in the indie drama Tape, which confronts sexual harassment in the entertainment industry and is now available to stream on Amazon Prime.
Isabelle Fuhrman can also be seen starring in the Lionsgate thriller, Down a Dark Hallway, alongside Uma Thurman and Anna Sophia Robb. Previously, she starred alongside Abigail Breslin and Alex Wolff in the off-Broadway production of All the Fine Boys, the coming-of-age drama written and directed by Erica Schmidt.
Isabelle broke onto the scene in 2009 as the haunting young girl in Orphan. Following her debut role, she joined the cast of the breakout hit The Hunger Games, squaring off against Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson in the original film. On the TV side, she was seen as Lizzy Caplan’s daughter on the critically-acclaimed Masters of Sex on Showtime.
She has also appeared opposite Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack in Cell, a thriller based on Stephen King’s acclaimed novel of the same name, the romantic comedy 1 Night alongside Justin Chatwin and Kyle Allen, and the road-trip comedy Dear Eleanor with Jessica Alba and Luke Wilson for Appian Way.
Isabelle has trained at the highly-selective Shakespeare Program at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London for multiple summers.
Isabelle Fuhrman is represented by UTA, Luber Roklin, and Gary Mantoosh.