The Making of the Indie “The Shifting”

Making Low-Budget Doesn’t Mean Low-Quality

  

“When a myth is shared by large numbers of people, 
it becomes a reality. ”

- Lawrence Blair, Filmmaker/Anthropologist, Ring of Fire (documentary, 1991)

Filmmaker/Director Julio Saldariaga’s formula for making independent films requires that his stories convey a powerful, positive message no matter how low the budget. “The trick,” said Saldariaga, “is to deliver a self-help, aha movie and keep a commercial appeal.

Saldariaga has always been fascinated with the Japanese psychological concept known as the 100th Monkey Theory. It presupposes that once a majority of a species understands a concept, idea, or way in which to perform a task, the said minority will automatically gain the majority’s understanding of this concept through a form of mass consciousness… hence Lawrence Blair’s quote on how a myth becomes a reality.

Lizette Molina as Marcela

Saldariaga’s new drama, The Shifting, is a story that follows the life of Marcela (Lizette Molina)  who lives in a rough part of East Los Angeles as she comes to grips with her traumatic past. In the year 2012, Marcela reads a transformational book, “Dile Yes A La Vida” by Chris Lee, and begins to follow the book’s six steps toward taking responsibility for her life. Marcela goes against the elder tradition of never addressing taboo issues such as rape, incest, and molestation. But the Pandora’s box she opens will likely get someone killed. Her challenge is to stop her boyfriend Manny (Carlos Acuna) from murdering the man who raped her at a very young age. The accused is now a beloved, up and coming politician, Councilman Joseph Delgado (Mauricio Mendoza). So in the midst of her deepest aha moment, will the entire world be destroyed (in 2012) as many believe? For certain her world, as she knows it, will never be the same.

I was intrigued after watching the movie trailer. I thought, how in the heck do you spin one woman’s tragedy, the mass hysteria ensuing all around her, and the threat of 2012 being the end of the world, into one compelling plot?

Latin Heat interviewed director Julio Saldarriaga along with cast members Mauricio Mendoza (Encounters, Resurrection Blvd.) and Yeniffer Behrens (Unknowns, In Plain Sight), who also wears a producer’s hat.

LatinHeat: It is so hard to make a profound point inside a universal/commercial story for all audiences. Do you think you’ve accomplished this?

Julio Saldarriaga: We succeeded because we never took our focus off the primary message. We managed to modernize an old psychological theory, and we applied it in East Los Angeles in 2012… the year in which many believe the Mayans foresaw the end of the world.

LH:  Let’s get to the nitty-gritty of the film. What was the budget?

JS:  The hard budget is $200,000. But if you work in the talent deferrals we’re talking about a film, from concept to finish, that’s closer to $450,000.

The film is in collaboration with my company Filigrana Films, an independent production company with offices in Los Angeles and Bogota, Colombia. Our focus is to develop, co-produce, and co-finance content with the right message. We are currently working in partnership with various Latin-American production companies.

LH:  Where are you with the film?

JS:  In the final stages of post production, editing, and working on the sound.  By mid-February, we anticipate being 100% done! 

LH:  When and where will The Shifting’s worldwide premiere be held?

JS:  At the Festival Internacional de Cine in Guadalajara this spring (March 2-10 2012).  We are also planning another worldwide premiere during the summer at another festival.

Yeniffer Behrens

Yeniffer Behrens (YB): We went to AFM and the response was amazing!  Everyone wants to see the movie. We now have a long list of distributors who are waiting for the screeners. 

LH:  Yeniffer! You not only co-star in the film, you’re also a great film marketer!

YB:  This is where I also jump in as co-producer by creating buzz and marketing. It’s easier when a film has all the winning elements and commercial appeal! This is the fourth film I’ve produced. I love the creative process, the collaboration, and connecting people. The movie is based on a book by life coach Chris Lee and we will tap into the billion-dollar self-help market. It is not the most conventional marketing strategy but it is very specific and niche oriented.

LH:  Mauricio, how hard was it to play the role of a man who has a really bad secret from his past and is about to be exposed?

Mauricio Mendoza as Councilman Delgado

Mauricio Mendoza (MM):  It was gratifying to play a role of this caliber, and it was all accidental for me. Julio had hired a Mexican star for the leading role and he was let go a day before they started shooting. A friend of Yeniffer’s gave my name to the casting director. I went in at 8 PM that night, was the last one to audition, and Julio offered me the role on the spot.

LH: Julio is it coincidence that you have so many Colombians working on this film with you?

JS:  It was my idea from its inception to make a Hollywood movie with Colombians living here. The music is Colombian, the actors are Colombians… it’s really cool. We kid that it’s the Hollywood Cartel!

LH:  How hard was it to make this film?

JS: Financing was the hardest. Getting people to believe and let me use their money. It was tough because it was important that this film become a successful business model that I can take back to investors and be able to duplicate. We don’t have to make millions like the Hollywood standard, but we can have a stream of good movies where everyone gets paid and we generate enough of a profit to finance the next film.

LH:  Why did you go the indie route instead of the making the regular rounds with the studios?

JS:  We discovered we had something to show that was different from everyone else. We have a low budget movie titled 2084 on Time Warner Cable that we made for the owner of Digital Jungle. When TWC saw the quality of what we achieved for so little, they said it was better than what big studios do sometimes with gigantic budgets. So we ventured out on our own with The Shifting and it’s working.

LH:  Julio, we’ve seen so many low budget films that frankly look low quality. How do you accomplish a high quality film with little financing?

JS:  It’s the quality of the story. It has to shine. The story has to be solid and you can overlook the low budget. A good story on the screen is as good as any other high budget studio film. We should not use the excuse that because we didn’t have money, the film stinks.

LH: One more question Julio. How did The Shifting change you as a filmmaker and as a man?

JS: The Shifting helped me realize the consciousness and awareness that we as humans are achieving. Now more than ever, I believe that we are closer to a big change and more people are aware of it! The film is a perfect example of the 100th Monkey Theory in bringing about the war between the old selfish instructions and the new self-awareness.

LH: Thank you, Julio, Yeniffer and Mauricio.

Will Marcela find peace with her past without her rapist getting murdered? Is 2012 the end of her world?

The Shifting is a Filigrana Film inspired by Chris Lee’s book, “Dile Yes A La Vida.”

Stars Robert Romanus, Mauricio Mendoza, Carlos Acuna, Melina Lizette, and Yeniffer Behrens

Julio Saldarriaga, Director

Gilchrist Macquarrie, Writer

Annette Bigles, Screenplay

Andres Barahona, Chris Lee, Eddie Ruiz, Producers

Guillermo Franco, Set Photographer

Movie Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEtFz6s45-8

To like The Shifting visit:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Shifting/212244898840026

Festival Internacional de Cine Guadalajara:  http://www.ficg.mx/    

Latinowood, The Making of The Shifting, (c) 2012, All Rights Reserved.

Edited by: Casandra Moreno Lombera

Hispancize 2012 Manny Ruiz, Roman Morales’ insight on how indie films can benefit

"It’s very important to note that we want to be a platform even for the existing film festivals. We want to be a friend and an essential ally to other film festivals." -- Manny Ruiz

Hispanicize Event 2012 -- Latino Film Showcase

April 11 to 13, Miami, FL

http://www.hispanicizeevent.com

I had the pleasure of interviewing the main individuals launching the Latino Film Showcase at HIspanicize 2012 and if you haven't read the first part of my article, it's on Latinheat.com or click on link:
http://www.latinheat.com/news/3307/hispanicize-latino-film-showcase-provides-missing-indie-links-in

Latino indie filmmakers don't miss out on this opportunity to submit your film art for consideration at the first annual Hispanicize Event 2012 Latino Film Showcase! If you've participated at other film fests, come and experience the difference it will make in progressing your film forward.

Latin Heat: Sounds like the attending marketers; innovators; influencers; and newsmakers will also learn something from meeting the filmmakers and watching the films.

Manny Ruiz

Manny Ruiz:  Yes! One side of the Hispanicize event showcases trends and trendsetters in Hispanic social media, marketing, business, cultural, and entertainment sectors while the Latino Film Showcase side allows participants to see these elements come together in the films they watch. Marketers and filmmakers will be in the best environment to engage with each other and identify who can best help drive their films.




LH:  Is the Hispanicize Latino Film Showcase in competition with other film festivals?

MR:  I want to be clear and point this out… There are simply not enough venues to help U.S. Latino filmmakers gain visibility and distribution. They are… we are still paddling up a creek as Latinos.


We are willing to make Hispanicize a place that showcases our fellow film festivals to help filmmakers understand how to maximize their visibility. We compliment other film festivals and like events.


We’ve established Miami as our permanent event home to bring the national, international, and social medial worlds together for the benefit of filmmakers. Miami’s international presence is well known. It’s close to New York and has a lot of media. From this perspective, our film event brings a tremendous amount of value to filmmakers. We definitely want partnerships and alliances. We don’t see ourselves as competitors but allies. We see ourselves as an invaluable platform and invite others to join us.

Roman Morales

Roman Morales: It’s a rare opportunity for any filmmaker to come to a Latino film event and gain exposure and access to so many valuable tools.


LH: At last year’s Hispanicize in Hollywood, CA, those who attended praised the event and raved about the fun they had. Will the film showcase also be “fun?”

MR: Absolutely! Doing business doesn’t have to be without some fun elements. There are many activities and surprises in the works. Participants are in for a major treat!


LH: It has come as a surprise to others in the Latino entertainment industry that you may have just put this film showcase together without much thought or experience in cinema arts.

MR:  Our Latino film showcase is not just thrown together. We started three years ago as a professional development conference that evolved into social media, bloggers… essentially a Southwest by Southwest Latino event. We have spent time and resources learning the lessons to get to the point where we are ready for primetime. We’re ready to be known as the U.S. Latino film event that showcases high quality product.


LH: The 2012 film event kicks off with feature length, documentaries and short films, what are the main criteria you're after in the area of subject matter?


Roman Morales:  We talked about this quite a bit, we just want quality films and films with worldwide appeal. Our objective is to find/discover filmmakers whose main goal is to make quality films that we expose the world to. Not just your run-of-the-mill indie films.


MR: We want to make an emphasis in this film showcase on U.S. Latino filmmakers. We are not excluding Latin American filmmakers or their films, but they are already getting fairly good treatment/exposure on national and global levels...where we feel we can especially help is with the U.S. Latino Filmmakers.


But we won’t dismiss Latin American filmmakers especially those who move into U.S. film space with a project.


One of our primary goals is to empower U.S. Latino filmmakers with more opportunities that they traditionally have had. But it is never enough and with this gap we have to do better.


RM: Also, stories have to be universal. We need to come up with different type stories and prove that low-budget doesn’t have to mean low-quality.


MR:  With government subsidies for filmmakers in Latin America it is easier to get produced, unlike the U.S. Latino filmmaker who don’t have these option.  We want to be able to help the U.S. filmmaker with exposure, finding funding and help them with their goal of creating better quality stories with universal appeal.

LH:  Why encourage U.S. Latino filmmakers to submit a film to Hispanicize Event?

MR: Their films screen with the right audience media and bloggers, professional developers, and opportunity to meet potential marketers.


RM: We expose the entire process it takes to get your film in front of the eyes who can make a difference in whether your film picks up a distributor or not.


MR: I know some very talented filmmakers who have done very good work in terms of documentaries, you can see their talent shine but what frequently happens, there is still a big gap in understanding in how to make a living producing their artwork. Not enough entrepreneurship, we’ll give them this platform.


LH: What other unique aspect to Hispancize will filmmakers have access to:

MR:  There’s such an intense focus on the media part of our event that participants and general public think of us as the mother of all press conferences! We’ll have around the clock press coverage, a 4-day press conference, if you will. We expect a lot of use and configuration for press conferences, built-in to event. There is a press conference room set up for filmmakers to use. And, we still have mega surprises up our sleeves.


LH:  Will participating independent filmmakers who are veterans and former prize winners be able to submit for consideration?

RM: Yes, we’ll consider veteran filmmakers in talks to showcase and some studio films. There will be a $10,000 cash prize for the winning feature film and a $5,000 cash prize for shorts.  The studio films won’t quality for prizes but their presence and films will impact our event. We also have a major retro closing film… a cinematic spectacle!


LH: Roman, was it a hard sell to convince Manny?

RM: Not hard to twist Manny’s arm. The guy loves cinema. He’s put so many resources into event… it’s ultra special.


MR: Roman was an influence, inspired me to take as far as we are in 2012. Roman is a very influential in Austin film industry. It is important to me as a filmmaker and producer, I have a personal perspective of what I need and thus have every reason in the world to have this platform.


Thank you, gentlemen. We’ll see you at Hispancize Event and Latino Film Showcase next year on April 11th to 13th, 2012 in Miami, FL! 


For more information on event and how to submit to the Film Showcase, visit: http://film.hispanicizeevent.com.  Early film deadline:  February 7; Late deadline:  February 21.



About…
Manny Ruiz is the organizer and creative director of Hispanicize 2012, the largest annual event gathering marketers, bloggers and social media influencers as well as the chairman and co-founder of Hispanicize and Latina Mom Bloggers network.  A media trailblazer and award-winning PR professional, Manny is also the co-founder of the Hispanic PR Blog, the leading marketing trade journal focused on Hispanic public relations and the "daddy-in-chief" of the bilingual parenting web site PapiBlogger.com.  Prior to launching these properties, Manny was President of Multicultural Markets and Hispanic PR Wire for PR Newswire.  Prior to PR Newswire's acquisition of Hispanic PR Wire, Hispanic Digital Network and LatinClips in 2008, companies he founded, Ruiz was Chairman and CEO of HispaniMark, the parent company.

Roman Morales is the Film Showcase Organizer/Film Curator of Hispancize Latino Film Showcase. A filmmaker from Austin, Texas, and a producer on the award winning documentary Split Decision (2000), Roman has been a part of the Austin film community. Having worked in film and television as consultant and technical advisor for 10 years he is extremely excited to now be a part of the Hispanicize organization. 

At The Alma Awards!

Had such an amazing time at the Alma Awards this past Saturday. Most definitely, the National Council of La Raza’s (NCLR) 20^th Alma Awards was the Latino Party of the year!

This year’s show has many changes, starting with the venue. For years, Alma would host at the Shrine Auditorium or in Pasadena at the Convention Center. This year, NCLR took their soul show to the beach at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles.

I must admit I wasn’t thrilled with the venue. It was hot, muggy… guess the air wasn’t working and the seats were not elevated enough for us shorties. I spent most of the night stretching my neck and my luck had me sitting behind a super tall woman with a super high hairdo. But the entertainment, the smoothness of the taping, made these slight inconveniences worth it. Also, NCLR’s production staff, volunteers were all courtesy and helpful. Pros all the way!

There were a lot more A-lister stars and they all dazzled on the red carpet. Co-host Eva Longoria outshone George Lopez in a gorgeous coral mermaid strapless Oscar de la Renta gown. 

Other starlets who walked with her included Desperate Housewives Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman, along with Eva La Rue, Alexa Vega, Naya Rivera, Michele Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, Sophia Milos, the ladies from Let’s Talk… Bel Hernandez, Naibe Reynoso, Dyana Ortelli and Kikey Castillo, and Demi Lovato and Cote de Pablo.  
Power couples included Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith, Mario Lopez and his lady love Courtney Laine Mazza along with Maria Canals-Barrera and David Barrera also dazzled.  

Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffin
nephew

Lord, help me, but Benjamin Bratt is drop dead gorgeous! He walked with Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Enrique Castillo, Edward James Olmos, David Zayas, Michael Trevino, Ricardo Antonio Chaviria and Tristan Wilds. Also, there were some important directors and producers like Gregory Nava, Dan Guerrero, Robert Rodriguez, to name a few. However, the most gorgeous male that night hands down was Modern Family’s Rico Rodriguez! A charmer whose talent is going to take him far!

Let's Talk ladies, Dyana Ortelli, Kikey Castillo,
Bel Hernandez & Enrique Castillo

Let's Talk co-host & CNN Reporter,
Naibe Reynoso

Hip-hop star Pitbull brought the house down with his off-the-charts performance!

Edward James Olmos reminded us that while the night was a celebration, it was the eve of September 11^th and said, “We must try to help all the people who are sick because they went first to try to help when the buildings collapsed. That is my big understanding of what ten years of remember is all about.” Eddie, what a class act he is and I’m honored to call him a friend. Also, not many know that he was originally booked to take one of the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers. But the Sunday prior to the 11^th, as he reviewed his flight itinerary, he realized that he would be arriving into LAX in early evening and he had to be at the Latin Grammy’s that night. So at the last minute he changed his flight and instead returned on Monday, September 10^th. Destiny intervened.

Gregory Nava 

While the Alma Awards catered to the glitz and glam of entertainment, the chatter turned political when Gregory Nava, the great director, producer and screenwriter, accepted his Career Achievement Award.  “The immigration situation has gotten much worse since 9/11. The attack against the undocumented is now an attack against all Latinos,” said Nava. “This is an attack on all our culture…  we have to fight against because it is an injustice.”

The El Norte and Selena filmmaker revealed that he finished the script to Garden of Eden, which examines our current immigration issues.

Actor/Producer Enrique Castillo &
Producer Lorena Alvarado

Enjoyed seeing Danny Trejo, who wore a suit jacket that was lined with embroidered daggers… he looked “Machete” cool! He spoke eloquently about what the evening meant to him. “I love being Latino in Los Angeles,” he said. “Right now is the time for Latinos.” Oh, man, I’m in love! He speaks my Latino language! He got a huge round of applause when he said, “We’ve moved forward in entertainment industry because of people like Robert Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez who have pushed us into the main stream. We are movie stars, for lack of a better word, but we are out there with all of them, and I thank God for that!”

Demi Lovato & little sister

Demi Lovato performed her current single “Skyscraper” and she sang her heart out! That girl has a spectacular voice! It is better than ever. Her live performance was amazing! It was heartwarming to see that she’s happier and feeling better these days. Bravo, Demi! Keep it up!

  

The closing act was a spectacular performance by Latin pop icon Gloria Estefan. Her first English-language album since 2003, “Miss Little Havana.”  Her performance reminded us she still has the magic!

Naibe Reynoso interviewing Diva Eva!

I would like to mention that the sponsors of the Alma Awards spoke about how important Latinos were to their corporations, gave statistics, etc. Well, I felt they were preaching to the choir! I mean the entire audience knows this… I challenge these corporate tycoons to instead preach to other corporate leaders and billionaires who still are in the dark about the impact Latinos are making economically and demographically. Don’t preach to us… preach to them!

Don’t forget to watch the Alma Awards on Friday, September 16^th at 8PM on NBC. It’s a night where every thing is Latino razzle-dazzle! I’m not going to give you the names of winners… you’ll have to watch the show! There are some surprises!

Clark Russell, hair stylist to stars and Kikey Castillo

At The Almas, Latinowood, Sept. 10, 2011 ©