AlGe Film // Runner
About The Film
Runner is a Short Film project written & directed by Alon Gelnik - a graduate student from the School of Visual Arts. This is a thesis project for the MPS Live Action Short Film department. The program is chaired by Bob Giraldi, an accomplished film & television director.
Synopsis
Director's Statement
ESCAPING from a forced hiking retreat for troubled teens, Sammy Girshwin forgets his moral COMPASS and takes advantage of an opportunity to FIND his way back to New York. With nothing in his pockets, Sammy surprises himself when he jumps into a stranger’s car holding nothing but empty THREATS.
Libby is just as surprised to find panicked Sammy in her passenger seat making DEMANDS. Especially since she sees herself in Sammy with a second chance to make things right.
The controversial WILDERNESS Therapy programs provide a potential solution to the hopeless PARENT. The program cannot guarantee behavioral change for troubled ADOLESCENCE, but the success stories of these CAMPS are impressive. But at a price...
There have been countless REPORTS of escaping participants who rush into the open areas surrounding the ISOLATED camps. Some PARTICIPANTS are able to make their way to a distant town, most are found and RETURNED. Rarely these INCIDENTS end in death.
Certain teens suffer from BEHAVIORAL issues shaped by unfortunate experiences in their adolescents – such as lack of acknowledgment and WARMTH from parents, inadequate education, financial difficulties, social anxieties, and more… In Runner, these issues are in the backdrop, rather the OUTCOME of these scenarios is what provides this short film with the UNIQUE and interesting story line.
Additionally, the story EXPLORES the levels of TRUST between strangers and how to achieve a meaningful RELATIONSHIP.
* This film will be used as a tool to raise funds for underprivileged adolescents.
