Director Lawrence Ferrara
Dr. Lawrence Ferrara

  

“Characters that deviate from the norm
reveal the human condition and make us
take a look at ourselves in unexpected ways.

“In ‘A Stranger Within’ I created
unusual characters that portray
both our positive and negative aspects
so audiences can identify with emotions
they may avoid in real life.”
                                    — Lawrence Ferrara

Director Bio

You'd expect your chiropractor to go see a film once in a while, just like everyone else does. But make a film? That's another matter entirely. Yet, that's exactly what Dr. Lawrence Ferrara of Boston has done. Ferrara has just wrapped post production for A STRANGER WITHIN, a compelling thriller filmed in and around the greater Boston area.

According to Ferrara, writing a screenplay was less difficult for him because he has observed much about human behavior in his practice. As a chiropractor, Ferrara was trained to see people's smallest actions. Since he does this every day, he feels it wasn't that difficult to develop fictional characters with unusual quirks. That's how the idea for A STRANGER WITHIN began.

It must also be said that Ferrara's interest in film began as a child, when he was able to get a poster from THE WIZARD OF OZ with the original signatures of Ray Bolger and Jack Haley. He has been an avid film fan all of his life, and this prompted him to take a film directing class at Boston Film and Video several years ago. That one experience led him to production work, assistant directing positions and finally to A STRANGER WITHIN, his very own screenplay. In addition to writing A STRANGER WITHIN, Ferrara also produced and directed this film.

Adjustments are, of course, what being a chiropractor is all about. But making his mark in the film industry has been the biggest career adjustment of Dr. Ferrara's life.

FILMOGRAPHY

  • Spring, 2004 Director/Producer/Writer A STRANGER WITHIN

  • Fall, 2000 First Assistant Director DEATH BY REPETITION

  • Spring, 2000 First Assistant Director/Editor ABOVE THE LAW

  • Fall, 1999 Production Assistant AVUNCULAS

 

An Interview with the director

Lawrence Ferrara directingThe first question I generally get asked: “What, exactly does a director do?”

Well, in an independent film, it must be said that the director gets involved in everything. This includes script, casting, lighting, sound, location selection, wardrobe and set design…not to mention directing the actors …and don’t forget to order enough sandwiches for the entire crew.

But the biggest challenge of all for me? It was maintaining the point of view of each character by fine-tuning the blocking, camera movements and lighting. And throughout the shoot and edit, each aspect of the film was painstakingly evaluated to determine if all parts were essential to telling the story.

For example, in the scene in which Danny returns home from a date and thinks for the first time that perhaps he is “not a loser” anymore, he also experiences his first real confrontation with his brother. Camera and actor movementsThe camera and actors movements had to enhance the emotions being displayed. I insisted the actors move in a circle in a clockwise direction while the camera, which was hand-held, rotated in the opposite direction. This added a sense of urgency to the scene — and rotating the camera against the actors created a heightened tension. Think of it as two boxers in a ring.

“A Stranger Within” is my debut feature, both as writer and director. It has been said that a director’s job is made easier when working with a talented cast. And I was blessed with a truly talented and spirited cast. Each actor performed brilliantly. All understood their characters intimately and made them come alive on the screen.