"STRANGER AT THE GATE"
Director Josh Seftel -
Oscar Nomination -
Jan 11, 2023.
26 Minutes.
Director Josh Seftel discusses his documentary film "Stranger at the Gate" with Chuck Braverman, explaining how he found the story of a small mosque in Indiana that showed compassion and forgiveness to a man who planned to bomb their mosque. Seftel was inspired by this story of hope and wanted to share it with the world through his series of short films about American Muslims. He also discusses the making of the film and the challenges of capturing real interactions in a verité style without using recreations. The film features aerial shots and utilized a shoestring budget. The editing process took around seven months and utilized the talents of the editor to bring out the story through sound design and language. Seftel explains how the use of percussive sounds and editing restraint in the film helps to capture the gravity of the real-life story without making it feel superficial.
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00:00:00 In this section, Chuck Braverman interviews director Josh Seftel about his short documentary film "Stranger at the Gate" which made it onto the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences shortlist. The film tells the true story of a small mosque in Muncie, Indiana that showed compassion, forgiveness, and grace to a man who showed up at their door with tattoos all over his arms, a Marine tattoo, and skulls on his arms. The man had come to do a reconnaissance mission and blow up the mosque, but the kindness he received from the congregants changed his mind. The film is just under 30 minutes and is a story of hope.
00:05:00 In this section, the director of "Stranger at the Gate" explains how he found the story of the mosque in Muncie, Indiana and how it inspired him to make a film about it. He was feeling hopeless about the state of the world when he stumbled upon the story of the congregation of the mosque who changed the course of what was supposed to happen by connecting and building a bridge with their enemy. He saw this act as an immense display of hope and wanted to share it with the world through his series of short films about American Muslims, the Secret Life of Muslims. The director also discusses how the members of the mosque served as inspiration for the film and why he believes their actions demonstrate a message of peace and kindness that could benefit the world.
00:10:00 In this section, the director explains how a Muslim mosque came to be in Muncie, Indiana, despite it being an unlikely location for one. The community was largely formed through the presence of Ball State University, which attracts many international students and scholars. This community is the focus of Seftel's film, "Stranger at the Gate," which tells the story of a man who planned to kill members of the mosque. The film is available on the New Yorker channels and on YouTube for free because Seftel wanted the message to reach as many people as possible. The members of the mosque knew that Seftel was Jewish, but they welcomed him and his team with open arms, creating a familial atmosphere on the set.
00:15:00 In this section, the director Josh Seftel talks about how the success of his documentary Lost and Found on public television and its nomination for an Emmy made him realize the power of filmmaking to effect change, an achievement he initially wanted to pursue through Doctors Without Borders. He borrowed a Hi8 video camera, which he was told wouldn't work, but it did, and suddenly everyone was shooting Hi8 films. While Lost and Found led to the American adoption of thousands of Romanian children, most of his works have small but positive effects on the world. Stranger at the Gate has the potential to do some good in the world too, and the New Yorker has been a great partner that has acquired some of his documentaries over the years, including the current one. Funding for the current doc short came from financiers and donations, and it was acquired by the New Yorker quickly after the director brought them a near finished film.
00:20:00 In this section, the director discusses the making of "Stranger at the Gate" and the challenges associated with making a documentary film without utilizing recreations, as they wanted to capture moments of interaction between the director and subjects in verite style interviews. The film also features aerial shots, which give the viewers space to imagine the story themselves, and were filmed on a shoestring budget, with a drone that their DP already had. The editing process took around seven months and utilized the talents of the editor to bring out the story through sound design and language.
00:25:00 In this section, the interviewer and Josh Seftel discuss the use of percussive sounds and editing restraint in the film "Stranger at the Gate." Seftel explains how these elements contribute to capturing the tension and gravity of the real-life story without making it feel too light or superficial like a Disney movie. The interviewer thanks Seftel and wishes him luck with the Oscars.
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