See the convergence of film and video games with ‘Hello Stranger’
A year or two ago I had the absolute pleasure of discovering an FMV game called The Gallery from director Paul Raschid. I was immediately smitten with this high-concept game/movie and had the honour of chatting with Paul about the project. Well here we are again and Hello Stranger is the new project from the visionary. So here are some details:
“The interactive film is not a gimmick. It could be the start of a film movement” is how James Hayes, Events Manager reacted when Neville Raschid, Founder and CEO of Aviary Films outlined the inaugural programme for the Interactive Film Club, which is set to launch on April 10th at 7pm at the Genesis Cinema in Whitechapel as an official side event of the London Games Festival 2025.
So how does an interactive film work? Fans in attendance will get to decide how the film ends via vote! Upon entering the screening, they will be handed glowsticks. At different intervals throughout the film a decision of how it progresses will be put to the audience. The most votes for a particular narrative branch will be the winner!
Cam is a techno-hermit, conducting life from his electronically automated smart-home. Work, shopping, entertainment and most notably: socialising. Cam interacts with strangers on the platform Hello Stranger: a randomised video chatting website. Eventually, he encounters a masked stranger with an altered voice. Unnerved, Cam leaves the call only to find the stranger has hacked his smart-home and locked him in. The stranger tells Cam that he must win three rounds of games, or it is ‘game over’. Viewers must make decisions and play the three games in order for Cam to survive but one wrong choice could lead to a grisly end.
The news come off the back of the success of The Gallery, which, like Hello Stranger, was written and directed by Paul Raschid, whose interactive film credits also include The Complex (2020), Five Dates (2021), The Gallery (2022) and Ten Dates (2023). His work has thrilled audiences at festivals in France, including the prestigious Dinard Film Festival, the UK, which included a brief run at the Genesis in 2023, and China.
With Hello Stranger Paul Raschid continues to explore the space at the convergence of film and video games. The cast includes George Blagden (Vikings, Versailles, The Gallery). Laura Whitmore (‘Queenie’ and ‘2:22 A Ghost Story’), Danny Griffin (Fate: The Winx Saga), Christina Wolfe (The Ark, FBI: International), Kulvinder Ghir (Goodness Gracious Me, Foundation), Yasmin Finney (‘Heartstopper’ and ‘Doctor Who’) and Sir Derek Jacobi (Gladiator and many more).
Interested? Look for tickets at https://www.genesiscinema.co.uk/event/96470
