HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Two people can survive the same relationship and remember two completely different stories.
That is the emotional engine behind How Did We Get Here?, the new Stoop Filmyard Productions short film starring Opal Monet as Candice and Reginald Wout as Shawn.
Written, directed and filmed by Anthony Darnell Gay—Doe Boy Sumz, the approximately 16-minute Brooklyn romantic dramedy begins with a couple sitting on a park bench, trying to understand when the love between them became silence.
Every answer opens another memory. The problem is that Shawn and Candice rarely remember those memories the same way.
A relationship told through competing montages
Shawn sees himself as the man who kept trying: holding doors, making gestures, offering romance and attempting to support a relationship that slowly became harder to recognize.
Candice remembers the details he leaves out. The woman at the corner store was supposedly a cousin. Their bus-stop meet-cute may not have happened as smoothly as Shawn tells it. Flowers, food, money problems, loneliness, jealousy and emotional distance all look different depending on who controls the montage.
The film does not turn either character into a simple villain. Shawn’s job loss and depression are real. Candice’s frustration and unmet emotional needs are real. Their memories are funny, romantic, defensive and occasionally painful because both people are editing the relationship while they describe it.
Where does love go when the montage ends?
The park bench becomes the courtroom
The central bench is more than a low-budget production choice. It becomes neutral territory: a place where neither person fully controls the world around them.
Flashbacks move through a Brooklyn corner store, bus stop, ATM, ice-cream stop and other ordinary locations. That simplicity keeps the story recognizable. These are not fantasy-romance destinations. They are the places where real couples create memories—and later argue about what those memories meant.
Built independently in Brooklyn
How Did We Get Here? was filmed in Brooklyn on August 22, 2026, with a small team, real neighborhood locations and a production plan built around resourcefulness rather than a large budget.
That independence is part of the film’s identity. Stoop Filmyard did not wait for permission, a studio greenlight or a major financing package. The team used performance, editing, sound, wardrobe changes and visual perspective to make one relationship feel larger than its physical locations.
The finished cut was completed September 1. The film has also been submitted for wider community exhibition, and a BRIC programming appearance is being prepared; exact channel and scheduling information will be announced when supplied.
Opal Monet and Reginald Wout
Opal Monet gives Candice warmth without making her passive. Candice is capable of laughing at Shawn’s version of events and then exposing what he conveniently omitted.
Reginald Wout plays Shawn as a man who may sincerely believe his own edit. His confusion is funny, but the performance also lets the audience see the hurt underneath the defensiveness.
The chemistry works because the film allows them to be affectionate even while questioning whether they still understand one another.
Watch the official short film
Watch HOW DID WE GET HERE? on YouTube
Team Candice or Team Shawn?
The film is designed to continue after the credits. Viewers should compare the memories, identify the red flags and decide whether the relationship can survive once both edited versions collide.
- Who remembers the relationship more honestly?
- Was Shawn emotionally unavailable—or struggling in ways Candice failed to understand?
- Was Candice asking for too much—or finally asking for the minimum?
- Should they stay together?
- Are you Team Candice, Team Shawn, or Team Both Need Therapy?
100 likes and follows unlock the next chapter
The release campaign has a clear goal: 100 likes and new follows unlock the official trailer and additional behind-the-scenes content.
Watch the film, like the original release, subscribe to Indie Stream, choose your side in the comments and send the film to someone who remembers your relationship completely differently than you do.
Credits
Opal Monet — Candice
Reginald Wout — Shawn
Written, directed and filmed by Doe Boy Sumz / Anthony Darnell Gay
A Stoop Filmyard story and production
Presented through Indie Stream Media
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