Plot

A young family have just moved into their new home. With everything still in boxes, they spend the morning in slow time: playing and laughing together. Wearing nothing but an empty box on his head, father Jonas chases his naked 3-year-old son Otto through the living room, much to the amusement of mother Marie, also naked, on the sofa.

A few doors down, neighbour Margaret is getting ready to greet the new arrivals on her road with a home-baked cake. As the game next door builds in excitement, we watch Margaret make her way down the road to knock on their front door. When nobody answers, Margaret boldly enters through the back garden and steps inside the house. A scene of peak bacchanalia unfolds before her.

Time stops. Both parties stare at each other like animals in a zoo. Then Marie takes a tentative step forward to signal a hello. Margaret responds, but suddenly everyone is painfully aware of their situation. With an awkward shuffle, Margaret leaves the kitchen the same way she came.

We leave both parties digesting what has just happened. How did they all get here? Where was the line? And who overstepped it? How will they possibly find common ground after what happened?

'From A Strange Land' poses the timely question of how we can make ourselves understood in moments of real tension. Are we able to re-build bridges when a line has been irrevocably crossed? How tolerant are we really? This short looks to raise these points in a non-confrontational way and bring its audience along for the ride.