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Die Jäger

The story follows Paxton, a withdrawn war veteran that would like nothing more than to live out the rest of his days in solitude. What he truly needs, however, is to rekindle his lost compassion in helping those that can’t help themselves. Paxton struggles with his compassion for others in the name of survival, continually having to make the choice whether or not to expend his own resources in the aim of helping someone else. A choice he despises making, almost always choosing self-preservation over helping another. He’s forced to make this choice again and again, and in a final moment, and chance to choose someone over himself, Paxton must sacrifice his last bullet to save someone else. A story to reflect on the fact that, to be truly human, we must learn to act selflessly.

  • Holden Brandenstein
    Director
  • Holden Brandenstein
    Writer
  • Holden Brandenstein
    Producer
  • Alec Mascellino
    Assistant Director
  • Thomas Pontillo
    Editor
  • Michael Z. Atrata
    Key Cast
    "Paxton"
  • Chad Tredway
    Key Cast
    "Shane"
  • Wes Fisher
    Key Cast
    "Looter"
  • Vaden Pegg
    Cinematographers
  • Troy Sigafoos
    Cinematographers
  • Austin Chaney
    Sound Design
  • Thomas Pontillo
    Production Design
  • Holden Brandenstein
    Production Design
  • Colton Carter
    Script Supervisor
  • Holden Brandenstein
    Costume Design
  • Casey Campbell
    On Set Sound Mixer
  • Thomas Pontillo
    Boom Op
  • Gabriel Hoover
    SFX Coordinator
  • Ross Mitchell
    VFX Coordinator
  • Matthew Ditmore
    Armorer
  • Dennis Thompson
    Production Assistants
  • Kerri Delaney
    Production Assistants
  • Kyle Simpson
    Composer
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 5 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 20, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    3,700 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Point Park University
Director Biography - Holden Brandenstein

Holden Brandenstein is a fresh graduate out of Point Park University, graduating with a BFA in Cinema Production with a focus in Directing, along with Cinematography, Producing, Editing, and Writing. Holden prides himself of having a fundamental understanding in all aspects of filmmaking. The way he views it, the only way one should be qualified to be a Director, the person responsible for coordinating the achievement of a film's vision, is if they have the capacity to accurately communicate with all departments of a film. How else might one efficiently achieve their vision?

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Director Statement

Die Jäger was my Senior Thesis. It's a proof of concept for the expanded story and world for the inevitable feature I aim to create under the same name. Die Jäger is a much larger world and story than the allotted 12 minutes we were granted for our Senior Theses, but even so, I'm still satisfied with the final product. Sure, there are things I would still change/fix, but all in all, I'm happy with how it turned out. I know how to improve come the feature!