A young boy is sent on a quest by an ageless wise man. On his journey, the boy becomes a man and discovers the ultimate treasure was the experience along his path.

Interview with Producer Elizabeth Mitchell

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

We wanted to tell the tale of an epic, life long journey which gives our hero a profound revelation...but it's not what he's expecting. Those are always life's best lessons! The film is only two minutes because we also wanted to challenge ourselves to show as little as possible while still telling a full story and giving our lead a complete arc.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

In just two minutes, we promise a complete epic featuring an omniscient narrator, ageless wisemen, a hero’s valor, vast settings of dangerous terrain, and a monster, all culminating in an unexpected revelation.

Director Sean McCarthy works with actor Erik Dyadchenko before a take.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

We explore the theme of bravely taking on the unknown, and facing it with courage instead of fear. This basic theme is something we all experience time and again in our own lives. How we choose to react and face our challenges determines the rewards we get from our respective journeys. It's a very personal choice for all of us...no two life paths are the same, nor do they come with the same obstacles or rewards. But the universal truth is we will all face choices and demons. How we navigate those ultimately leads to our destiny and a revelation about our life's purpose.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

Once the concept was written, the script quickly came together and did not really change much over the course of the film's development. The only alterations were a few alternate lines for the narrator, and we played around with lessening the narration in post. The film actually has two different versions, the only difference being the narration.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

The feedback so far has been wonderful! We're getting a lot of love in particular for the production design and the visual fx.

The crew preps to create a windstorm around actor Victor Kolbe, who readies to traverse a mountain.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

We're not surprised by the feedback on the production design and visual fx (although we very much appreciate it!) Rebecca Amosah, our amazing costume designer, and Briana Sidwell, the art director/set dresser worked hand in hand to create this world with only a couple days of pre-production. Those two ladies did the work of entire teams, and it's such a testament to their talents that the end result does not at all look like something thrown together last minute by a skeleton crew.

As for the post-production, a small but incredible team of artists led by Dustin Strocchia spent 150+ hours working on post-production, and literally, every shot in the film is touched by some kind of visual fx.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

Our film is small in running time and thereby may easily get lost amongst any shorts blocks it might play in. So the more opportunity we have to highlight it and single it out, we're grateful for that.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

We're looking for anyone who recognizes the work of anyone involved in this production--from the on screen talent, to the writing/directing, producing, cinematography, wardrobe and art direction, editing, and visual fx--who may be interested in talking further about getting the film out there and/or collaborating on a future project.

Night shoot for the Monster's big reveal...

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

We hope that anyone who watches it takes away the ending message of the film, which we won't write here since it's a spoiler...the movie is only two mins. long, it's not a huge time commitment to get to the end and find out what it is! :)

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Is there a time or experience in your life you can relate to the lesson our hero learns over the course of his lifetime journey?

Would you like to add anything else?

We're so grateful to We Are Moving Stories for all they've done for us in the past, for featuring our newest work The Unexpected, and for all they do to shine a light on the indie film world!

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Sean and Elizabeth continue to collaborate with their team at Guerilla Wanderers, writing, directing, and producing various original and client-based projects. They recently released a new episode of their award-winning digital series, Doucheaholics, on Amazon and Vimeo on demand. They are currently packaging the series for networks while Sean works on his latest screenplay.

Interview: June 2019

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

The Unexpected

A young boy is sent on a quest by an ageless wise man. On his journey, the boy becomes a man and discovers the ultimate treasure was the experience along his path.

Length: 2:18

Director: Sean McCarthy

Producer: Elizabeth Mitchell

Writer: Sean McCarthy

About the writer, director and producer:

SEAN McCARTHY founded his own professional production house, Guerilla Wanderers Films, at 19 years old. The company has gone on to produce countless award-winning films, commercials and music videos. Sean has the distinct honor of being voted Best Filmmaker by readers of Silicon Valley’s Metro for a record three years in a row, and to date has garnered 15 Best Director awards for his films and music videos. Currently, he is writing three original feature scripts and showrunning as well as acting in his award-winning digital series Doucheaholics.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL began her film career acting in short films, music videos, and commercial spots. She eventually turned to producing in order to cast herself in more projects, and has now been working as a producer for over 10 years. She is the co-creator and showrunner of the award-winning digital series Doucheaholics, which she also produces and acts in.

Key cast: Wise Man (Bert van Aalsberg), Hero as a Child (Erik Dyadchenko), Hero as a Man (Victor Kolbe) Monster (Gabe Gottstein), Hero as a Wise Man (John S. Boles), New Hero (Sarah Gierer)

Looking for: journalists, film festival directors, sales agents

Facebook: Guerilla Wanderers Films

Twitter: @GWfilms

Instagram: @guerillawanderers

Hashtags used: #short #epic #journey #hero #quest #vfx #film #periodpiece #monster #microshort

Website: guerillawanderers.com

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Dances With Films, TLC Chinese Theaters. Thursday June 20, 5:00pm, Fusion Shorts Group 3