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The Debate

Two candidates vie for a seat in a small local election as we see the people they really are.

The Debate was entirely improvised. The directing team worked with each actor to develop their characters and then weave their stories together. The Debate portion of the film was shot in studio in the same manner as a live TV broadcast.

  • Amber Johnson, Joe Rapp
    Director
  • Amber Johnson, Joe Rapp, Phil Lusardi, Karen Bair, Joy Dolo Anfinson
    Writer
  • Amber Johnson, Joe Rapp, Nick Hillyard
    Producer
  • Joy Dolo Anfinson, Karen Bair, Phil Lusardi
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Mystery, Thriller
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 17, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    400 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Z-Fest
    Minneapolis, MN
    United States
    March 15, 15
    World
Director Biography - Amber Johnson, Joe Rapp

While working for a cable access news station in the suburbs, this idea flowered from working coverage during an election year.
Amber now words in corporate media and freelances for television and sports programming while making creative projects on the side.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The Debate was an experiment in non traditional story development and story telling. All of the performances are improvised and the directing team worked closely with each actor to develop their character and his/her backstory. The debate portion of the film was a multi-camera shoot which we ran like a real live TV broadcast.
After shooting the debate portion we worked to intertwine the backstories of the characters and show imagery that depicted their journeys.