Private Project

Chance Encounters

After being hired by Daxis Labs, Trevor, a graphologist, needs to
analyze handwritten letters to track down Leah, who possesses
top-secret documents.

  • Jacob Arsenault
    Director
  • Éric Arsenault
    Producer
    It Takes Two
  • John Cumberland
    Director of Photography
  • Stephen Maclean Rogers
    Key Cast
    "Trevor Wilson"
  • James Rae
    Key Cast
    "Lawrence Riggs"
  • Montana Leigh
    Key Cast
    "Leah Monroe"
  • Steve Kasan
    Key Cast
    "Alan Payne"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    19 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 17, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 CAD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Jacob Arsenault

Jacob’s journey in filmmaking began early on, through the splicing of random clips for his friends with PlayStation and iPhone apps. Then, through learning video editing in university, his idea of what video creation was snowballed into a love for learning editing, image composition and writing. His work has largely been influenced by outlandish ideas. This love for science fiction began as a child, when his father used classic sci-do films as his lullaby. Alongside a love for computers and the digital age, this led to a passion for the seemingly impossible future. This predisposition, along with his desire to understand behaviour has led Jacob’s explore human relationships through the lens of science fiction.

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Director Statement

Although the ideas may be hidden behind the vale of science fiction, Chance Encounters represents two aspects of how we can find and accept each other in romantic ways. The slightly more obvious is concerned with expectations within romantic relationships. The current dating landscape has made one time relationships the main “intimate” way people meet each other in the modern world. This has made it easy for love to be commercialized by dating apps and pornography, by allowing for payed subscriptions in value based tiers, all the while showing idealized and struggle free encounters. These experiences influence young people into believe that love should be perfect and unwavering. The internet has given each person the ability to filter for their own perfect mate, without having to deal with the complexities of regular human relationships. This expectation of the perfect mate leads to the isolation of individuals, solely based on their own heightened standards and lack of forgiveness for an individual’s flaws. Although Trevor’s faithfulness towards Leah may be exaggerated and unrealistic, it served as an extreme example of how pushing past initial problems can lead to greener pastures. The title provides my answer to the solution, “chance encounters”. As cliche as it is, my experience has shown me that the most random and unexpected events in your life will lead to the most fulfilling and long lasting relationship, regardless of whether they are friendly or romantic.