UCLA has carried on a well-worn tradition of welcoming its native filmmakers back to campus to exhibit their talent, and the first showing of the 2008-2009 Melnitz Movie season is no exception.
The Graduate-Students-Association-run program kicks off tonight at 7:30 at the James Bridges Theater with a showing of “August Evening,” a film written and directed by Chris Eska, an alumnus of UCLA’s own graduate film program. Eska, as well as the female lead from the film, Veronica Loren, will be present after the screening for a Q&A.
“August Evening” tells the story of Jaime (Pedro Cataneda), an aging farmhand, and his recently widowed daughter Lupe (Loren), as they cope with generational conflicts set against the backdrop of modern south Texas. “It’s a story that’s meant to explore family and conflicts between generations,” Eska said.
Despite his California residency, Eska actually has deep roots where his story is set. Eska grew up in Gonzales, Texas, a town with a population a little more than 7,000, and completed his undergraduate education at Rice University in Houston. Originally a premed student, Eska had a change of heart and major after taking an undergraduate film course and soon changed his academic path to suit his interest in film. That interest led him directly to UCLA’s film school.
“I had heard nothing but good things, and it ended up being the only film school I applied to. I figured I would either get in, or I would just go travel around in southeast Asia for a while,” Eska said.
After graduating in 2003, Eska set about writing “August Evening.” Eska drew inspiration from his hometown and its citizens. “It’s meant to be an examination of family relationships. I looked at a lot of my own family, as well as the Latino families that I knew and how they related to each other,” Eska said.
Eska filmed on location in five cities in Texas, including his original hometown of Gonzales. In a magnanimous display of community, the townspeople banded together and donated their efforts to the production. “We had people from Gonzales making the food for the crew. … There was even a woman with a thrift store that would lend us clothes, and then when we were done she would take them back without charging us,” Eska said.
In keeping with the humble, collaborative and naturalistic quality of the production, Eska chose to have the film made in Spanish. “I wrote the script in English, but then I had my two lead actors translate it themselves into what they were most comfortable with,” Eska said. “I just wanted it to be natural. To me, dialogue doesn’t matter as much as the emotion that’s conveyed on screen. … Dialogue is always secondary to emotion for me.”
The combination of the fact that the film centers on two Latino characters and is in Spanish has made it resound profoundly with Latino viewers. A screening in San Antonio was sold out to primarily Latino patrons.
“People in the audience were coming up to the lead actor and wanting to hug him because they appreciated what he did so much,” Eska said. “Latinos are not very common in mainstream films. … They’re not usually portrayed as main characters.”
While traveling and promoting “August Evening,” Eska is working on new ideas to write and direct. In the meantime, the filmmaker plans to enjoy his homecoming to Westwood and the Melnitz building to showcase his work. The film opens at the Laemmle Sunset 5 on Friday.