Stranger at the Gate

2022 0h 30m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 38

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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 sets out to kill.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Bibi Bahrami
Dr. Saber Bahrami
Zaki Bahrami
Captain Kent Kurtz
Dana McKinney
Emily McKinney
Richard 'Mac' McKinney
Jomo Williams

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joshua Seftel
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 30-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 4 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joshua Seftel, shot by Karl Schroder. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jeremy Medoff shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Bibi Bahrami and Dr. Saber Bahrami and Zaki Bahrami carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt20784118 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 38 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joshua Seftel directs. Karl Schroder behind the camera. Jeremy Medoff cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 30-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Released 4 years ago.
3Directed by Joshua Seftel, shot by Karl Schroder. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Jeremy Medoff shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Bibi Bahrami and Dr. Saber Bahrami and Zaki Bahrami carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt20784118 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 38 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
8Classified under 9 themes, including "mass murder", "love", "terrorism", "religious differences".

The technical file

Cinematography: Karl Schroder
Editing: Jeremy Medoff
Sound: Bobb Barito
Runtime: 30 min · 0h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Stranger at the Gate (2022)

Also by

Joshua Seftel

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-03-22
★ 6/10
Richard McKinney spent over 25 hears in the US military and it's fair to say that when he returned home to Muncie in Indiana he was a pretty devout hater of all things Muslim. He despised their beliefs, their clothing and indeed admits that he completely lost the plot when he thought they were mixing with his young daughter. Determined to rid the town of this scourge, he set about planning a bomb attack on their mosque whilst they were all at prayer. It was on a recce, though, that he began to realise that these people were decent, respectful and kindly families who treated him with an humanity he had hitherto been lacking for many a year. Apparently it took him only a matter of weeks to realise that he had backed the wrong horse and that these were folks to be embraced as they had embraced him. It's not a great documentary. It does seem to suggest rather that the Muslim community has all the work to do to prove it's non-complicity in atrocities when they happen and that the armed forces are always acting honourably, but it did also make me wonder what steps the military authorities take to ensure the mental wellbeing of people who have basically given most of their lives to blindly obeying orders that require no compassion, evaluation or validation of the orders given. As one of his superiors pointed out to him - just imagine they are but pieces of paper on a target practice. It just goes to show that communication and interaction can go some way to breaking down barriers and assumptions and hats off to McKinney for his honesty.

Production companies