The Daily Orange

Media Credit: Mackenzie Reiss

Michael Buchbauer and Jonathan Conklin need $6,000 to produce their first short film, "Strangers at the Door," which is why the sophomores and a group of friends staged a four-hour film and music showcase featuring student performers Erica Scarano, Luke Wygodny and Brad Koed at Funk 'N Waffles last night.

By 9:00 p.m. the event had made a mere $120.

Never mind that $120 will hardly cover the cost of shipping raw film back and forth from the lab, or that the project is well beyond the scope of a typical sophomore effort. Buchbauer and Conklin, both film majors in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, are too ambitious and too dedicated to let issues of money or practicality stop them.

"I'm of the opinion that if you know what you want to do, you have to cut the bullsh*t and just knuckle down and do it," Buchbauer said. "There's always that fear that you'll fail - there's so much that could go wrong. But if you have that confidence and strive to do better, then it won't be a problem."

Buchbauer, the project's producer, director and writer, was inspired to write the 10-page script after a frightening incident over winter break. He and two friends were stranded in the snow outside of Winchester, Va., when their car battery died unexpectedly and a man in a nearby house refused to help them.

"It was like that scene in Halloween where Jamie Lee Curtis runs through the streets screaming and everyone ignores her," Buchbauer said. "It shocked me that in a small suburban neighborhood, people were just that suspicious."

Buchbauer was so disturbed by the incident that he resolved to write a script based on it. Four drafts later, he had "Strangers at the Door," which he describes as a commentary on the age of xenophobia.

In the script, three teenagers find themselves stranded in the woods after their car breaks down and a nearby family refuses to help them. The impasse escalates to an act of violence that "causes irreparable harm for both parties."

"You don't win by fighting wars," Buchbauer said of the film's message. "You win by communicating."

Friends, classmates and financial backers appear to agree: the message has proved powerful enough to enlist a host of supporters to the effort. Buchbauer partnered with friend and classmate Conklin to get the project started; 15 other students have also joined the film's crew, including students from other majors and colleges.

Continued...

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