Five Star Realtors
Director · Writer · Producer · Editor
“Five Star Realtors” is Ethan’s most ambitious project yet. The short film follows a trio of morally dubious property managers who are fed up with dealing with their tenants and having to wait around all month for rent to come in. So, they hatch a plan to break into apartments they manage, vandalize them, and then fine their tenants for it all.
Visit Film WebsiteFive Star Realtors trailer
About the Project
"Five Star Realtors" was directed, written, produced and edited by Ethan Geiger. This is to date his most complicated film, taking over a year to complete start to finish. The film features 16 credited cast members, 45 credited filmmakers, 12 locations and 120 visual effects shots. "Five Star Realtors" was filmed in Boulder, Colorado with a passionate all-volunteer cast and crew.
It has yet to play at any festivals as it was just finished on July 3rd, 2025. "Five Star Realtors" has the goal to shine a light on the predatory practices many large property management companies have, while also providing the audience with a good laugh.
As the director, Ethan managed the team, kept morale up through the intense three-day shooting schedule, and brought out the best possible performance from the actors.
Stills, promo, and BTS
Info
Plot Summary
In the cutthroat world of college town property management, Caleb, Leo, and Sarah, three (according to them) severely underpaid property managers, struggle to get through their day of dealing with tenants and their many complaints. But when a broken office smoke detector and a price hike in Caleb's heated seat subscription push them over the edge, they hatch a plan to milk every dime from their tenants by secretly trashing apartments, creating bogus fees on the spot, and weaponizing their spare keys. What starts off as a petty hustle turns into their own little criminal enterprise, until they break into the wrong tenant's apartment and this tenant fights back. The trio find themselves in a courtroom facing a judge who does not quite share their view that they could not have broken in if they had the keys.
Three morally dubious property managers are fed up with dealing with their tenants-always reporting problems with their units and having to wait around all month for rent to come in. So, they hatch a plan to break into apartments they manage, vandalize them, and then fine their tenants for it all. To them it's the perfect plan, but will the law catch up with them?
Production Dates
- November 10, 2024 Courthouse INT
- November 23, 2024: Office scenes
- December 13, 2024: Break-in scenes, courthouse EXT, Caleb's Apartment EXT
Filming Locations
- Boulder, Colorado, USA (Court Room INT)
- Boulder, Colorado, USA (Five Star Managed Apartments)
- Boulder Colorado, USA (Five Star Realtors Office)
- Boulder, Colorado, USA (Caleb's Apartment EXT)
- Northglenn, Colorado, USA (Courthouse EXT)
Technical Details
- Runtime: 13 minutes
- Sound Mix: Stereo (Digital) / Dolby Surround 5.1 (5.1)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.6:1 / 16 : 9 / Various
- Camera: Sony FX3 (select shots) / Sony FX6 (Break in scenes) / Sony PXW-FX9 (A Camera)
- Lenses: / Tokina Cinema Zoom lenses (Office scenes, Courthouse EXT) / XEEN prime lenses (Court Room INT) IRIX Cine (select shots) / Sirui Anamorphic lenses (Break in scenes)
- Negative Format: XAVC-I
- Process: 6K down sampled to 4K Digital
- Country of Origin: United States
- Languages: English