Stranger Film Spotlight

Today’s film spotlight focuses on the short film Stranger directed by Jaron Herren.

What is the title of your film and what inspired said title?

“Stranger” is my late 2021 short film that I spent the better part of 10 months working on throughout the year. The tie “Stranger” itself is minimalist and a title that begets mystery and ambiguity, two key elements to the narrative of the film.

Tell us a little bit about the story and origins of your film.

“Stranger” is a mystery film, we follow the perspective of a little girl, who we find at a park, alone. the narrative is non-linear between this sequence, and a sequence at a police station. The puzzle is pieced together by the audience and the characters until the finale. I adored the script as I resonated strongly with the thematic values and saw so much potential in developing the subtle clues and character developments in interesting and dark ways, I am influenced heavily by realism and cynical cinema.

Any films or filmmakers that inspired this film?

I was deeply inspired by the works of David Fincher because his choice of interesting and dark screenplays, deliberate minimalist use of extreme close up, his reliance on camera stability and that that can juxtapose in specific moments of the film all speak to me and my values. Denis Villeneuve is another contemporary influence, but specifically his 2013 film Prisoners, in terms of subject matter and also style.

What is the goal of the film for you?

I think this film has some important things to say, a lot of those things will ruin the reveals of the picture, but the subject matter and topics explored resonate with me on a personal level and I think it has the potential to reach a lot of people the same way. I don’t want to make something I don’t feel will spark an important or interesting conversation, so if people are talking about this film after they’ve watched it, it’s done its job.

What has the journey been like getting the film into production?

The journey was hard. I was working full time and also raising my month old son, but I had a lot of support from my wife at home and a team of dedicated crew members none more so than my Producer Bam Kaewsong, so together we were able to work as a team (when time would allow) and roll on full steam ahead with a vision everyone believed in.

One thing you learned from this project?

I have learnt the value of a great working environment. There were some minor problems on set regarding personnel and a lack of respect effort and when morale is brought down by a few, the work from a lot can suffer. I was lucky to be surrounded by an immediate set of great friends and collaborators who were able to deflect negativity and create a circle of focus and love around the set.

How can folks find you and your film online?

“Stranger” is doing the festival rounds at the moment, we have won best screenplay awards, best director awards and have been nominated for best film several times, we plan to keep rolling so the film won’t be available publicly for a little while unless through local film festival or private screenings, however the teaser trailer is on Vimeo for anyone to check out!

Any last pieces of advice for fellow filmmakers?

Continuing on from what I learnt, find people, great people, and make films together. That’s what I’ve been lucky enough to do. Take turns working on each other’s films, use this to try out new areas instead of exclusively specialising, and show up for friends. Because great environments beget great results, and even better relationships.

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