Category I

“Non-Negotiable Rules”

These are the structural pillars of Auntrolye. 

If even one is broken, the film is no longer Auntrolye. These rules are not thematic, they are legal requirements that govern the film's core identity.

 1. The Protagonist Is The Filter Of Reality

Every frame, sound, and narrative beat must be presented exclusively through the protagonist’s perception. This is not metaphorical, if the protagonist cannot see, feel, remember, hear, or imagine it, it does not exist within the film’s universe. The camera cannot step outside their subjective field. There are no third-party perspectives, no “meanwhile” sequences, no omniscient revelations.

This does not mean the protagonist must physically appear in every scene, but it does mean every scene must represent what they are processing in real time or retroactively. Even imagined events must be theirs. For example, a cutaway to another character can only occur if the protagonist is mentally fabricating that scenario. If they are unconscious, dreaming, or spiraling, what is shown must still belong to their interpretive mind, not to objective reality.

This rule is the foundation for all others. It ensures that the viewer is not observing a story, they are embedded within the character’s perceptual psyche.

2. Narrative Structure Mirrors Mental State

The progression of the story is dictated by the protagonist’s internal psychological condition. If they are fragmented, the story fragments. If they are repressing, the narrative delays or distorts crucial information. The structure does not follow traditional acts or external pacing models, it obeys the emotional logic of the protagonist.

This can manifest through:

• Nonlinear sequences that reflect recursive memory.

• Temporal loops that reinforce emotional entrapment.

• Scene repetition with altered details as perception shifts.

• Collapsing causality as identity destabilizes.

Importantly, these effects are not for aesthetic flair. Every deviation from traditional storytelling must have a psychological cause rooted in the protagonist’s state of mind. The story doesn’t just show mental instability, it becomes it. This is not an editing choice. It is structural embodiment.

3. Reality Must Remain Unclear

The film must preserve perceptual ambiguity throughout. The viewer should be uncertain what is real, what is imagined, and what is misremembered. Not because the film is dishonest, but because the character’s perception is fractured, and their interpretation is law.

There should be no confirmation from the film itself about what “actually happened.” The story must avoid narrative devices that validate or invalidate the character’s view from an external perspective. The only available truth is the protagonist’s subjective experience.

This is not to confuse for confusion’s sake, it’s to immerse. Disorientation is the condition of experiencing life through a compromised lens. The audience should feel what the character feels: doubt, instability, contradiction. The more the viewer seeks certainty, the more they must engage with the character’s internal logic. Clarity is not denied, it is redefined.