Moment of Truth started with a little film idea inspiration on my husband and my wedding anniversary. My husband had this idea to challenge and play with the audience’s mind in a way that we see one thing on screen and a voice over would fool the audience to believe another which would then ultimately lead them to a surprise at the end. The film was meant to be a Detective/Crime story. And with the narration idea and our mutual love for black and white images, we were set on the iconic film-noir era: inventive camera angles, the stark lighting effects, the stylized genre of film, mystery, crime, love, deceit. We thought we had it all figured out: a damsel in distress, being followed by someone, the detective that saves the day, and her. And then it dawned on me: wait a minute! Why damsel in distress? Why has the female got to be saved? Why has the man got to be the hero of it all? As an, in my opinion, empowered and forward thinking female, I realized then that we are yet still so conditioned by what we’ve been used to and what we’ve known and have been comfortable with for so many years, decades, centuries. It dawned on me then that we had to turn this story around completely. It was my mission and felt responsibility to bring awareness to these conditionings. I felt the urge to challenge our perspectives, challenge the iconic classic film-noir genre and provoke it with a story through the female gaze, turn it on its head. That felt good! It was always meant to be a neo-noir detective, crime film, but now it is one with a twist, one that challenges our conditionings: one with a 21st century revision. That is how Moment of Truth evolved into the revenge story that it is now, told through a female perspective. A photographer myself, I drew my inspirations from my love for black and white photography, both classic and modern. I was inspired by shows such as Mr. Robot for some of the inventive camera angles, and Watchmen for music ideas and the feeling I had as an audience and female while watching that show with it’s kick-a** female protagonist. As many female identifying persons, I’m on a mission to change the narrative for women in film. By provoking a genre and era that is still so mesmerizing, iconic, and popular, my hopes are to challenge our perspectives, challenge our conditionings (that we might not even be aware of) and bring a fresh, uplifting and fun take to an old and beloved classic. The experience I most want to communicate with Moment of Truth is that of empowerment, having fun with and get a kick out of it. I would love for people watching this short film stand up from their seat at the end of it and yell: “ Hell yeah, you go, girl!” That would be fantastic! 

LEA PFANDLER / DIRECTOR