Is there life beyond death? We may never know for sure, but filmmaker Michael Lavine explores the possibility in The Wanderer. The 10-minute short film is a beautifully lensed visual expression that artfully captures themes of immortality and death. The Wanderer will be screening at the 2025 Sydney Film Festival in early June.

Making a Deal with the Devil Angel

Shot in cinematic black and white, The Wanderer opens with the sound of gunshots. A man, smoking a cigarette, falls to the ground, dying. The score, anchored by electric guitar, slowly builds as we see a mysterious figure cross the screen. Dressed in a full-length black coat, her movement is direct yet ethereal. The woman, Morana (Alice Kremelberg), makes her way over to the man, Hopper (Cody Kostro), and offers him a form of salvation. Through stimulating conversation, Morana explains that she is immortal and tries to convince Hopper to take her place in her cursed existence. Ultimately, she wants him to trade his death for hers. As she encourages him to sign a 100-year contract and seal the pact, Hopper can’t help but second-guess this bizarre situation. Bartering his life could come with unintended consequences, and he doesn’t trust this mysterious martyr.

A Brooding Sense of Mystery

Writer-director Michael Lavine captures a brooding sense of mystery in The Wanderer. Dealing with topics like mortality and fate, the film doesn’t go too in-depth on these themes, given the time restriction. Running just shy of ten minutes long, the film does end on a slight cliffhanger, but this only confirms that The Wanderer easily has feature-length potential. I want to see what happens next! Alice Kremelberg is captivating as Morana, her performance could effortlessly translate to a network cable show like Supernatural or The Witcher.

Takeaway

Lavine brings The Wanderer to life after growing up in an atheist/non-religious household. He says, “As a filmmaker, I’m drawn to myth-making. I thought it would be cool to invent my own version of the afterlife, so I wrote The Wanderer. I wanted to tell a short story that challenged traditional religious beliefs in a thought-provoking way and invite the viewers to come up with their own conclusions.”