The Stranger Shortened - ID# 447
Riverside Brookfield
Dramatic Narrative
Entry Description
This short film is a dramatic narrative that captures the emotional depth and storytelling ambition of a much larger vision. Created alongside Andres Pinela, this production represents countless hours of dedication — from late night filming sessions to editing marathons that stretched from 8 PM well into the following afternoon. Every element of this film was crafted with intention and care, built from the ground up by a first-time filmmaker teaching myself color grading, sound design, and music integration in DaVinci Resolve. It is important to note that this submission has been shortened to meet the time requirements of the MMEA Dramatic Narrative category. As a result, certain story elements that were integral to the original cut have been condensed, and some scenes that added depth and pacing to the narrative had to be removed entirely. What remains is the core of the story — the most essential emotional beats and dramatic moments preserved as faithfully as possible within the given time constraints. The hurried pacing in certain sections of the film is a direct reflection of those necessary cuts, and does not represent the full scope of the original creative vision. We ask that judges consider the narrative with that context in mind, understanding that the complete version of this film breathes with more space, more detail, and more of the story we set out to tell. Despite these limitations, this submission stands as a testament to the effort, growth, and passion poured into every frame — a dramatic narrative told by two young filmmakers who gave everything they had to bring this story to life.
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
- 4/30 7:52 pm - Your filmmaking skills are evident, and it is clear you have a tremendous amount of passion for the project. I know you had to condense this story. It is difficult to tell a “meaning of life” story in five minutes. I’m not suggesting you don’t make this film, I think you absolutely should. My main question is about the passive nature of the character. He learns to “wake up” from a disembodied voice telling him what the meaning is. He is not discovering this through his own actions, failures and/or achievements. I get that he is supposed to gain agency when he picks up the phone at the end, but the big conflict within him isn’t really addressed in act one. He appears to be struggling and is clearly disconnected, but I think we need more to establish that he is conflicted with purpose. Again, very difficult to do in five minutes. The other question I have is about your aspect ratio decision. I think it could work well thematically if the intention is to constrain the character. However, if this is the case, wouldn’t it make sense for the frame to expand to wide once he begins to discover purpose? Perhaps when he opens the memory box. You clearly have a great deal of talent, and I would love to see the full cut. Keep making movies! You have a strong cinematic voice.
- 4/29 1:42 pm - There is a layer of elements between music, voice over, found footage, and an intense studio montage. All of these visual and audio elements mend really beautifully together. This film feels a little collage-y which adds to the warm and nostalgic tone of the film. Cinematically, I really enjoy how the camera puts us in a spectator position. Sometimes we get full access to what's happening in the scene, and other times we only get a snippet or a corner of video. This editing decision adds to the dream like feeling of reliving specific moments in life without a distinct direction. This non-linear aspect part of the narrative really moves the film along. This pacing is also done through time laps and musical cues. I would say my favorite part of this film is the editing. I would've loved to see the narrative tie more into the intentionality of the editing.
- 4/28 12:07 pm - Strengths: Nice sequence at 1:12 ending with the voiceover- powerful. Loved the falling sequence when he "wakes up" - a lot to look at and effective altering of speed. Nice grounded ending sequence. Improvements: Balance of sound between characters in opening was off (driver louder- passenger hard to hear). Shots at 0:48 did not feel necessary. Cut at 1:53 going into the tapes a bit jarring/hard to see everything. I didn't really feel like I "knew" the main character by the end of the film; would love that developed more.
Judge 1
Positives: I liked the use of the sped up shot, I thought it fit well with the pacing of the film. The color was decent throughout the film, although a bit saturated at times. I thought it balanced well and I enjoyed the handheld shots, they all had a purpose.
Improvements: The audio levels need to be mixed together at the beginning better, one side is definitely higher than the other, make sure they don't peak too high. Some of the shots throughout the film weren't needed, it was hard to follow the shots on the TV and what they were supposed to represent. The sequence when the boy is listening to a voice needs more of a variety of shots (or just cut down), the VO went on for longer than needed.
Judge 2
Positives: Your shots were sick! Really liked the beginning (although I can tell the driver is reading and driving, so definitely a no on that), and great use of a timelapse. There's a lot of technical skill I can see here that I enjoyed watching. I also thought that was very good use of stock, and the shot of him falling was done very well; super impressive work. (We might follow the same video artists, I'm peeping the influence. Good job!)
Improvements: Your editing could use the most work. I can tell that this was cut down, because some edits just don't work. Watch out for things that cut too fast, or don't provide enough context. The scene with the older woman seemed really strangely placed and unneeded. The pacing of the last two minutes of the film slowed to a crawl as well. I don't think the monologue needs to go that long, especially if you're only working with one shot. Going from that super slow pacing to a super fast ending definitely hurt your film as well, as nothing felt fully satisfying. If you let go of what the original story is, and look at it from an editorial standpoint, somewhere in this film you could shave off enough to complete 3 acts. PS-- in the future, don't give as much background to your film in the description; it doesn't need it. Not only that, it sounds as though you're insulting the festival you're trying to win when you call it limiting. As a judge, I can only critique what was submitted, not an imagined other, full length version of the project. If you feel that the constraints within the category or festival are limiting, or that there is a superior version of the film in a longer format, find a festival that will take the complete version, or make something that fits this festival better.
Judge 3
Positives: Overall, I think the cinematography is the best part of this project. The editing compliments it well and I can tell that you went into this project with a very specific idea and executed it. So for that, you deserve the praise. I also think the pacing, with an exception of the last scene, was very well done. I'd say from about 30 seconds until three minutes and 45 seconds in this project feels perfect. It feels clean. It feels intentional. Another area that I really like is the lighting. I think you did a good job of sculpting faces and placing your characters in ideal spots for the light, again with an exception to the last scene. But overall nicely done and don't submit things with a paragraph like that again because now I'm looking for faults instead of taking the piece as it is.
Improvements: OK, first things first. Never ever ever ever submit a film to a festival talking about how you were held back and what you could have done because I don't know you, I don't care if you win, and you should expect that of every judge and every curator. So even if you were in a situation where you have a deadline or the concept is too big for the constraints. Do not sell yourself short, do not approach the table with half of the meal missing. Artists get in this situation all the time, but what we do is we pivot, we reshape the story we sell it as something else because very rarely does the acquisition and ideation of a film, which simply means the filling process, end up being the end product. There is always some change in flexibility to be had and post. And a popular quote is the story is created in the editing room. As for your story, I feel the missing pieces. I can tell that I'm missing something some context. I feel like we don't really get to know why it is that our main character is feeling so stressed and unsure of the future. While technically, this is a very nice piece. I feel like there's so much missing and the most unfortunate part is that the back half of the film it's just VoiceOver and talking to the void. Something like that can get cut in half and that's a minute and a half that we could use to set a stake or obstacle.
Judge 4
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Judge 5
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