What an amazing start to the day!  My friend and awesome teacher, Sara Jacobs, brought my attention to an Instagram post (by @archers_all_stars); three photos with a group of students viewing my first film, an adaptation/fan film of Chris Van Allsburg’s The Stranger.

Original post: “Every year when the weather starts to get cold, I read aloud The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg!! Then, I let them watch a short 18 minute video based on the book!! Talk about 30 minutes of pure engagement and discussion!!! Love it!!! ❤️❤️…”

Moments like this make my heart sing. The book remains magical to me; it sparked my draw to storytelling and crafting narrative, which led me to filmmaking, writing a novel, and working in media production. So it’s wonderful to see the story continue to reach new students, and I couldn’t be happier to be a small part of that through the film.

Shout out to the rest of the “Stranger” team: Jenna Miller, Justin Moe, Devin Connor, Rob Engels, Katy Cox Engels, Brendan Biondi, Elizabeth Anne Taylor, Lorrin Rodgers, and Shane Hann.

Watch the film below: