The Strong Box

Randall, flat broke and in debt, discovers golden treasure in an ancient strong box. The treasure can be his...if he grants one small request.

  • Hassan El-Amin
    Director
  • Hassan El-Amin
    Writer
  • Hassan El-Amin
    Producer
  • Joseph Fox
    Key Cast
    "Randall"
    Comic View, All Def Comedy Live
  • Time Winters
    Key Cast
    "The Head"
    Vice, Velvet Buzzsaw
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 19 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 4, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    6,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    4K Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Hassan El-Amin

Hassan El-Amin is a Director with a creative flair and a knack for solving problems.

Hassan was an odd kid. Typically, Black kids from Detroit don’t grow up loving Kubrick and Kurosawa. He blames his odd parents for exposing him to arthouse cinema since before he grew an Adam’s apple. He graduated from Howard University’s film school and moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dream.

Once there, he quickly realized how expensive the city is and got a PA job. That job led to better jobs which led to an Emmy Award winning career at his current job as a television editor for the show Extra. Yet, as the years passed, a feeling nagged at him. What happened to the dream? He had to change.

So Hassan got to work. He wrote scripts, raised money and begged and cajoled friends in the industry to help him get back to doing what he loves, making movies.

In his spare time, Hassan enjoys kicking things like “ass” and “bad habits.” The discipline and skills gained from his second passion martial arts allows him to do just that. But most of all he’s into films and wants to share his joy of making them with the world. One day he hopes to direct a feature film and make his mama proud(er).

Hassan El-Amin lives in North Hollywood, California. It’s just like Hollywood without the traffic, money or famous people.

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Director Statement

I made this film because I was afraid. Truly afraid of what I didn’t know, what I wouldn’t allow myself to know...what’s in the box?

I work the graveyard shift. Besides the cleaning crew that comes and goes, it’s just me. When I’m done for the night I follow a well worn routine: shut off the computer, follow the back hallway out of the office and take the elevator to the parking lot. One night, I followed the hallway and found the elevator open and waiting for me. In the center of it was a cardboard box closed but not sealed. There was no one in the elevator or the building for that matter. I was all alone.

The scenario felt like something out of a horror movie, beckoning me to unravel the mystery and learn...what’s in the box? However, as a Black man keenly aware of how we don’t often fare well in horror flicks, I said to myself “Hell no!” and did the only sensible thing. I took the stairs.

When I arrived safe at home, the image and the thought still plagued me. “What was in that box?” This film is my imagination running wild in an attempt to answer that question.