You couldn’t find three films more different from each other than  “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Princess Bride,” and “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Yet all these classics—and plenty more— share a proven narrative structure: the story-within-a-story. Joining the illustrious group is “97 Seconds,” Ren Thackham’s science fiction short which won the Best Screenplay Award at the the 2018 Smartfone Flick Fest.

Also known as a frame story, the story-within-a-story structure is generally associated with fiction films. But it’s easy to imagine the same technique used in commercials, travelogues, and music videos. If you’ve used it and want to share the results, contact us at info@mobilemoviemaking.com

# # #

Based in Australia, Ren Thackham is also the director of “Rearview,” which this magazine showcased last year.

“97 Seconds” has been chosen as a Mobile Movie of the Week. It is also in the running for MobileMovieMaking.com’s  Best Mobile Movie of 2018.