THE VISITOR, 11min., USA
Directed by Nikolaus Aldrich
With his relationship in a rough patch and his career stalled, A man tries to find new purpose by retreating to the Pacific Northwest. While there, strange things begin to happen as he grapples with his sense of reality.

https://www.instagram.com/thevisitor_shortfilm2024/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

As a kid I was always fascinated by the subject of UFOs and Aliens. But I never really spent much time thinking about it as an adult. Then last year it was in the news a lot. It sort of re-ignited that curiosity I had as a child. There was so much storytelling potential that I drafted out a whole trilogy of films based on an idea that had come to me. I decided to start small and develop this as a short. The short film is essentially the opening prologue for the feature. While writing the short I wanted to make sure that it could work both as an intro to a feature but a self contained story as well.

I wanted to map the films in a way that naturally progresses through the emotions of what I imagine one would go through if they were to experience this. So starting in a Sci-Fi/Horror genre made sense to me. But if I'm lucky enough to expand this further it wouldn't necessarily stick with that genre throughout the story.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

I began writing the script/outline in July of 2023. The script was mostly done by December 2023. My Producer and I knew since the late-Summer of 2023 that we wanted to film around Portland so it then just became a waiting game since it was getting colder. Filming occured in May of this year and technically finished the short Mid-October 2024. So from beginning to end it was about 15 months. But there was some development of the feature as well.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Slow Burn

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Logistics. We had an LA cast and crew, a cast member from NYC and then the rest of our cast and crew were local to Portland. We filmed near Government Camp, OR which is about an hour outside of Portland. So getting everyone to the location was a complex task. In some ways I felt like Catherine O'Hara in Home Alone. Worried that I would be on the plane and realize one of our cast or crew members were left behind.

We had so many moving pieces while filming in a distant location with little control over weather, with a crew who wasn't necessarily all familiar with each other and we were in the middle of the woods with virtually no cell phone service. Trying to balance all of those hurdles while filming the whole short in 3 days was my biggest concern. We planned as much as we could and thankfully it paid off. We had the best cast and crew we could hope for. Everyone got along great and was just all around a really good experience.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

It was surreal. There were some things mentioned that honed right in on specific points I was trying to make. The idea of the Visitor(s) and how technically all the characters are alien to this location was a very intentional bit. I was happy to see that point come across. It was also so fun to see how the audience brought their own interpretations to it, what kinds of genres it fit into and filmmakers it reminded them of. There was a lot of hard work put into the film from every department and I was very happy to hear that those teams were given mentions. They really pushed the film into the next level.

The reaction to the film has been so positive. With its inception coming from a relatively dark time in my life. I really don't have words to describe how incredible it feels to hear others talking about the film and engaging with it enthusiastically. My initial reaction was that this whole strange journey was worth it. I couldn't be prouder of how it turned out and hearing the reactions to it made me a bit emotional if I'm being honest. I was very moved by the whole experience because it's surprisingly pretty rare in the festival circuit to really get that kind of direct feedback on your work.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

When I was about 6 or 7. Literally, I've never wanted to do anything else my entire life. When I was about 10, I was making home movies with my cousin. Re-enacting Star Wars with the toy lightsabers. Around the same time my stepsister (Executive producer of The Visitor, Rachel Krause) and I would also make home videos where she played crime solving twins. We were very impressed with our opening credits sequences which included just filming an early 2000s era PowerPoint slideshow. In a weird way this film feels like a continuation of us making our childhood movies since she was a big part of the behind the scenes as well. It's kind of a full circle moment. Filmmaking is something I've always known I would do eventually. I've been an Editor for a few years now so I'm still a part of the filmmaking process. I love my job too but making this film reminded me that Directing really is my dream. It was really nice to be on a set again.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

Probably the original Star Wars. I don't know the exact number of times but it was absolutely the movie that made me want to pursue this career in the first place. According to my Letterboxd account the movie I've logged the most is Avatar: The Way of Water which I've seen 14 times. So I would guess that one might one day even surpass Star Wars. George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron are the directors most responsible for me wanting to make movies. I would guess many of my most watched films are from the three of them.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

Each festival is catered to a specific thing. In a lot of ways this early festival run for The Visitor has been a bit of a trial run to see who or where we will get the best response. For example, I don't think it's a surprise we've gotten the best response from the Sci-Fi centered festivals. But we've also done well with horror festivals. I do love the feedback we get, especially from the Fantasy/Sci-Fi Film & Writing Festival. That experience is so valuable not just to hear kind things said but to also get a sense of what is resonating with the audience. This only helps us grow as artists and storytellers. I think any expansion of that would be immensely valuable.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

It's been a very positive experience thus far. Having a centralized place to submit the film to most festivals has made the whole experience so much more convenient.

10. What is your favorite meal?

I love Kung Pao Chicken

11. What is next for you? A new film?

Right now I'm focusing on the festival run for The Visitor. The Visitor was conceived as a proof of concept for a feature film. So I would love to expand this into a feature film. There's so much more story I want to tell in this world.