A 13 Khutz project
A young photographer breaks away from his family’s expectations to chase his dreams in New York, but his new life unravels when he spots a mysterious doppelgänger he fears is out to replace him.
Written & directed by Mike Klubeck
The story
Collin is a recent college graduate caught between family expectations and his artistic ambition. Back home in City Island, he works at the family diner under his grandfather Marco, who raised him and expects him to take over. Collin wants a different life: New York City and a career in photography.
When Marco unexpectedly announces his retirement, a brutal fight sends Collin away without saying goodbye. In the city, isolation and comparison take hold. Then Collin begins seeing someone who looks exactly like him—and learns that a doppelgänger may be both an omen of death and a demand to “become your true self.”
Theme
Collin ties his worth to his work, his success, and how he measures up to others. The double externalizes comparison, imposter syndrome, and the fear that his life has not been enough. His way forward begins when he stops treating his own singular existence as something to escape.
Tone & style
The film moves between grounded realism and eerie abstraction as Collin’s perception breaks down. Designed for 35mm, its gritty, dreamlike image makes the supernatural tangible. The camera lens becomes a point of view, blurring what is seen, remembered, and imagined.
Photography
Collin first uses photography to understand the world and gain entry to it. He gradually recognizes that art can reveal more about the maker than the subject. Photography becomes the tool that guides him toward a more honest self.
Writer & director
Mike Klubeck is a New York City-based filmmaker drawn to self-discovery, identity, and the friction between expectation and reality. A graduate of NYU Tisch, his shorts have received festival recognition, including These Games We Play and the original Photocopy short. The feature adaptation was pitched live at the 2024 Proof Film Festival, and Mike was a 2025 Nostos Writing Retreat fellow. His commercial and music work includes projects for Apple, Ray-Ban, Calvin Klein, and Dior.
Project team