Cavite
Neil Dela Llana, Ian Gamazon

"I don't know that we were thinking this was our stab at commercial filmmaking," says Ian Gamazon." "But I look at the picture now and think it has so many positive hooks. It's a thriller, it's exotic, there's violence and it's about a Muslim."

The picture is Cavite and the title refers to a rundown area of Manila where poverty and crime are an organic part of daily life. It's one of the stronger entries in the Los Angeles Film Festival and previously was showcased at Rotterdam and the South x Southwest Film Festivals. Veteran sales agent John Pierson saw it at the former event and signed on to represent the film but has yet to find a buyer.

It's the fourth co-writing and direction collaboration for Gonzalez and Neil Dela Llana who've known each other since high school in San Diego. They are an affable professional team; finishing each other's sentences and thoughts and speaking in a short hand that's refreshing and concise.

The film is a ticking clock thriller centering on a young man living in California but called back to the Philippines on an urgent family matter. When he lands he's given an envelope containing a cell phone. It rings and he's told his mother and sister are being held hostage. He has to complete specific tasks to gain their freedom and he has a limited amount of time to do them.

"It's one of those ideas that just hits you and you say, yeah, let's do it," explains Llana.

They fashioned a script in which the protagonist was a pregnant woman but when it came time to cast the part couldn't find an actress willing to travel to the Philippines or to do the role for a deferred fee. So, Gonzalez reluctantly agreed to take on acting duties and the script was rewritten for a man.

Shot with digital cameras, the two refer to it as a credit card movie. The first person approach allowed Llana to film while Gonzalez balanced the sound. It was also a gun and run operation with the two racing through the streets to complete the production ahead of notice from local film and censorship boards.

"We had just enough money to buy doubles of everything from cameras to wardrobe," notes Llana. "When we got back, we sold everything to finance the post-production."

Typical of independent efforts, they submitted to Toronto, Sundance and Cannes and spent about eight months being encouraged and then rejected. Gonzalez still wonders whether it was wise to send an early rough cut of the film. Regardless, their second wave of submissions drew immediate and enthusiastic response from Rotterdam.

"I'm kind of amazed that we've had nothing but positive reviews coming out of the three festivals we've screened at so far," notes Gonzalez. "The screenings have all been good and you start to wonder why we're still looking for distribution. It's been a real learning experience about the industry. I can only imagine someone trying to calculate box office, DVD units and cable sales potential and weighing that against time, energy and cash out of pocket. And we're a very cheap proposition."

Cavite screens Monday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Laemmle Sunset 5.

- by Leonard Klady