Boundary is your sixth short film. Where did the idea come from?

The idea actually came from an article I read in New York Times back in 2005 about the detainment of a family returning home from Windsor, Ontario at the border between Detroit and Canada on the Ambassador bridge. The father’s description of that experience was compelling reading. I thought it would make a very good 10-12 minute short film and hopefully, tell a story in a way that would be somewhat unique.

Was the film shot at a real border crossing?

No. We recreated that border crossing in New York, in Long Island at Jones Beach. We had to dress it up for the border crossing. Actually, this is a site has a great cinematic history. That is where Sonny Corleone was killed in the first Godfather movie.

Alexander Siddig is a well-known actor. He was in Syriana, 24, and Battlestar Galatica to name a few. How did you get access to him?

If we didn’t get him I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to make the film, to be honest. The script was written specifically with him in mind. One of our producers befriended the producer of Syriana, who put us in touch with Alexander Siddig’s agent. I wrote a letter to him explaining who I was and what I was trying to accomplish with the film and I also sent him a script. It was a shot in the dark. But Siddig emailed back, saying he enjoyed the script and would love to do it.

The tag line for this film states: “Once we cross, there is no return...” What does that mean?

The film was very much a response to what has been happening over the last eight years in our country. When we cross a certain threshold, the very ideas that we seek to protect end up being destroyed-- liberty, freedom, the right to lead one’s own life under one’s own terms. Since 9/11, a lot of boundaries have been pushed very far. So not only is there a physical boundary being crossed in terms of what happens to the man in this story, but also an ethical and moral boundary is being crossed. Once you push it too far, there is no way to step back from it. The damage has been done and the only hope we have is to move forward and deal with it. In an effort to improve the lives of its own citizens, a nation sometimes abuses its people’s own freedoms.

What can be done by the authorities to avoid demeaning cases of racial profiling?

To be frank with you, if I knew the answer to how to change those sorts of things, I probably would not have made this film. I’ve never been interested in telling stories that simply provide an answer. It was really just to create an experience for the audience on what it’s like to be in that position. At the same time, it was really important for me to depict the guards in the film in a way that they didn’t become villains. Because these are simply men who are doing their job, trying to enforce safety at the border.

What are the ingredients that make a really good short film?

The first ingredient is the emotional experience you create for the audience. It’s the emotional experience that people walk away remembering. And over the course of the six short films that I’ve made, that is what I learned each time. The compelling emotional experience is what you need to focus on. Then the question becomes: how are you going to do that? Secondly, you need a very interesting character to guide the story along in a way that allows the audience to follow. And thirdly, find a way to bend the form, to reshape the form, because you do not have to follow any rules with a short.

What advice would you give to someone who is about to make their first short film?

First and foremost, I would say: go out and do it. Whatever you are feeling or thinking right now, get it on paper. Even if you don’t want to write it down, think about it and then go out there and simply do it. And know that there are no rules, no limitations. The last film I made was on a cell phone in Poland. It ended up being a very wonderful experience. I learned a tremendous amount and realized how little you really need to make a film. It just takes creativity, passion, excitement and desire to share something with people.

Boundary is representing the United States in Manhattan Short Film Festival. What do you want people to take away from your film?

I really want people to learn to empathize with another culture, with another society, with another group of people, with another individual. It’s too easy to dismiss people on the basis of who they are, how they sound, how they talk, whatever the case might be. And once we make that mistake is so hard to correct it.