Stranger at the Gate
- 2022
- 29m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
1.7K
YOUR RATING
A U.S. Marine plots a terrorist attack on a small-town American mosque, but his plan takes an unexpected turn when he comes face-to-face with the people he is about to kill.A U.S. Marine plots a terrorist attack on a small-town American mosque, but his plan takes an unexpected turn when he comes face-to-face with the people he is about to kill.A U.S. Marine plots a terrorist attack on a small-town American mosque, but his plan takes an unexpected turn when he comes face-to-face with the people he is about to kill.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 2 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn a 2023 interview with AwardsWatch, Joshua Seftel described showing the finished film for the first time at the Islamic Center of Muncie, where the film was shot: "We set up a screening in the basement of the Islamic Center and I didn't know what people were going to think, if they were going to like it, if they were going to hate it, and about 80 people showed up. We showed the film and when it was done, the lights came on and I was like, 'Ok, what's this gonna be' and someone stood up in the back and he raised his hand and he said, 'I just want to say that I believe every American needs to watch this film'. First of all, I was relieved that they liked it, but I also felt like, 'Yeah, now this is my burden, this is my obligation to make sure that every American sees this film' because I think it does have a message in it and a power in the story that has the ability to change hearts and minds and change the way people think about Muslims, but also the way that people might think about the division between us and the possibility of building bridges where it might seem impossible."
- ConnectionsReferenced in Oscars Nominations Announcement (2023)
Featured review
Should you ever doubt that kindness and understanding can make a difference, please watch this film from director Joshua Seftel (WAR, INC, 2008). The 29 minute run time may just rejuvenate your faith in human beings to change their attitude and be accepting of those they once distrusted.
As a Marine, Richard "Mac" McKinney was trained to hate and kill Muslims. He was informed that they were terrorists out to destroy his country, and September 11, 2001 was all the proof he needed. A simple question from his young daughter Emily convinced him he needed to act, so he plotted to bomb the Islamic Culture Center of Muncie (Indiana). So this former Marine, a trained killer and hater, headed to the mosque to obtain the "proof" he needed to convince his daughter that his actions were righteous.
A funny thing happened. Mac was treated kindly by the folks there. They asked him questions and guided him to a better understanding. Now this didn't happen overnight. A shift in beliefs never occurs quickly. However, their treatment of Mac not only (unknowingly) saved their own lives, it saved his as well. He may have been trained to not think of his war targets as human beings, but he found them to show him more humanity than he'd ever known. It's chilling to see Emily ponder what it would have been like to have a mass murderer as a father, and mostly we are inspired to see good people work so diligently at accepting someone who initially showed them nothing but hatred. Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai is one of the producers of the film.
As a Marine, Richard "Mac" McKinney was trained to hate and kill Muslims. He was informed that they were terrorists out to destroy his country, and September 11, 2001 was all the proof he needed. A simple question from his young daughter Emily convinced him he needed to act, so he plotted to bomb the Islamic Culture Center of Muncie (Indiana). So this former Marine, a trained killer and hater, headed to the mosque to obtain the "proof" he needed to convince his daughter that his actions were righteous.
A funny thing happened. Mac was treated kindly by the folks there. They asked him questions and guided him to a better understanding. Now this didn't happen overnight. A shift in beliefs never occurs quickly. However, their treatment of Mac not only (unknowingly) saved their own lives, it saved his as well. He may have been trained to not think of his war targets as human beings, but he found them to show him more humanity than he'd ever known. It's chilling to see Emily ponder what it would have been like to have a mass murderer as a father, and mostly we are inspired to see good people work so diligently at accepting someone who initially showed them nothing but hatred. Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai is one of the producers of the film.
- ferguson-6
- Mar 2, 2023
- Permalink
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- Незнакомец у ворот
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime29 minutes
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