Film professor Nick Livanos recently finished shooting his latest film, “Truth is Stranger.” Shooting started on Sept. 17 and ended on the 20th, with many students helping.
Professor Livanos described the film as “weird and random.”
“‘Truth is Stranger’ is a bizarre short film about fiction itself,” Livanos said. “[The film] is much more about the relationship between characters and audience. As in, a character never really exists unless experienced by an audience. And that’s what the characters in this movie realize. They realize that in order to be alive, they need you to watch.”
Michael Moyer, a junior film production major, is the producer for “Truth is Stranger.” Moyer became part of this project when Livanos pitched it to him as a way to get academic credit.
“He basically pitched me a few ideas of things that I could produce,” Moyer said. “I thought all of them would have been directed by him, but he pitched me this one along with some other [film ideas], and this is the one that I was most interested in.”
Moyer said production went well despite a forecast for rain on Sept. 18, along with some other technical difficulties.
“[On] Sunday [Sept. 20], we were super thankful for the crew,” Moyer said. “They were extra intentional about keeping up that energy, even after lunch and that really difficult grind.”
Junior film production major Samuel Guerra was one of the production assistants on set. Because Guerra knew Moyer, he signed up quickly when he heard about the film.
“It was really cool. I learned a lot, like so much,” Guerra said. “It’s also cool to get involved with people who are working in the same environment, and you get to know how to deal with the stress in the middle of a film.”
According to Livanos, the film will likely be submitted to Sonscreen, an Adventist film festival for Christian filmmakers. He said it depends on how the final project turns out.
“If I feel this turned out to be strong, I’ll submit [it] to film festivals,” he said. “If I feel it turned out as a fun experiment and I’m glad I tried some things, then I’ll throw it online and make it free for everyone right away.”
Moyer said while the film has just gotten to the post-production stage, he believes it will be a success.
“Because I understand the vision behind it, I understand all the post-work that’s going to have to go into it,” Moyer said. “I trust the people that are doing that post-work. And I trust Nick and his vision—I have faith in it.”
