THE GREEN DOOR

THE GREEN DOOR – by Susanne Boeing

Synopsis

Henri lives in an anonymous apartment building in the city. One day he finds a strange flyer advertising something called ‘The Green Door’ in his post along with a disappointing letter from his dating agency. He goes to take the elevator to his apartment, but it is broken so he has to take the stairs. On the first flight he is almost knocked over by a man running the other way. As he flees, the man drops a wine red purse which Henri picks up. The second floor gives Henri deja vu. In the hallway he discovers a green door exactly like the one on the flyer. It is slightly ajar so he decides to investigate. To his surprise he finds Hanna on the floor in the kitchen. She has been attacked in her apartment and had her purse stolen. Henri calms her down and gives her her purse. Hanna explains she had actually been waiting for a date when the intruder arrived. Spontaneously she invites Henri for dinner.

It turns out the flyer is an ad for a movie, “The green door “. On their second date the two of them go the cinema and watch the movie.

Director’s statement – THE GREEN DOOR – Susanne Boeing

„There are things known, and things unknown: in between are the doors.“ William Blake

A while ago I discovered O’Henri (1862 – 1910) and was particularly inspired by his short story THE GREEN DOOR, which I have adapted into a short film set in the present day.

The complexity and anonymity of our technological world makes us sometimes overlook the obvious things amongst us. We can connect to everybody in the world without problem thanks to modern technology, but often we do not know our immediate neighbors. We find it increasingly difficult to meet new friends.
The unexpected good fortune in my story lies right next door. But it takes a fateful chain of events for our two heroes to find each other. Had the flyer not existed, the elevator would have worked and the thief would not have stumbled down the stairs … Who knows if Henry and Hannah would ever have met or even dared to speak to each other?

A short story with an atmosphere of mystery and melancholy that I find particularly beautiful. It is a plea to change our lives and discover the everyday life anew.

Storyboard 1

Storyboard 2