“You don’t watch a lot of TV do you?” I ask doctor, black belt, stunt double, recently turned film director and mother of four Dr. Sandra Feldman.
“No,” she replies, “I’ve never had cable.”
Dr. Sandra Feldman’s motto is “I don’t know what I can’t do,” and she takes those words seriously.
She started putting that idea to work in the early ’80s while studying to be a doctor at the University of Western Ontario. It was there that she met her husband and decided to get a little exercise between classes. In true overachiever fashion, she went on to become a sixth degree black belt.
By the early ’90s, Feldman was busy setting up her medical practice and starting a family. The first of her four kids was born in 1987, and the other three quickly followed.
“A lot of people ask me when is a good time to have kids. Well, you just do. A time doesn’t magically open up.”
Somehow in the midst of motherhood, she became aware of Kung Fu, a TV series that was shooting in Toronto.
“There was a Kung Fu series in the ’70s that started my interest in martial arts, and so when that came to shoot, I thought I’d like to be on the show to do some stunts.”
She had no TV experience, no industry contacts but put her motto to use once again and just started making phone calls. The next thing she knew, she had an active sideline job doing stunt work in films and television.
“I was in a lot of shows that came to Toronto. Most people did not know I was a doctor doing stunts. I kept them separate. It was fun!”
While this independent superwoman might seem ready to take on anything solo, she happily cites her son as the driving force behind her latest endeavour.
“One day I was watching my son in a play and thought, ‘I’d like to do something like this.’ It was one of those moments, he inspired me.”
That same night, Feldman went home, sat down in from of the computer and began to create the script that would eventually turn into a feature-length film, premiering this month at the ReelWorld Film Festival.
“I’d never had time to write anything before, with four kids. I didn’t even have a computer! I had to go use the kids’ computer!”
The story that came out, entitled A Touch of Grey, tells of four high school friends who are reunited, after 25 years, for one night.
Naturally, Feldman has already set her sights on her next project — a screenplay based on some of the situations she sees in her practice.
As for any feelings of inadequacy I might have experienced while sitting across from such a powerhouse, well, I choose to be inspired by all that she does. And while I don’t have a sixth degree black belt and probably never will, I do know who shot J.R
