’1/9′ – In Focus

Thank you to Russell for the heads up on the following article regarding Heather’s upcoming film, 1/9.

“Because of mass communication and mass transportation, the world is getting smaller, but we’re not necessarily getting closer or making more meaningful connections as a result,” says Alfredo De Villa (Washington Heights) of his third feature, 1/9, a New York ensemble drama about people with little in common besides a subway line who form unexpected and life-changing bonds. The film weaves three intersecting tales about a young photographer (Victor Rasuk), a couple estranged after the loss of a child (Heather Graham and William Baldwin) and a doorman, also an artist, who may be going blind (The Sopranos’ Dominic Chianese). “They are all blatantly unaware of their internal conflicts until they experience personal crises and the disruption of their habits leads to epiphanies,” says De Villa. “I wanted to make a movie where plot was secondary, never imposed on the characters, and where powerful emotions were explored in the ellipses. You get a sense as the movie ends that the real dramatic climax is a few days later.” He wrote 1/9 with Nat Moss, his co-screenwriter on Heights and 2000 Sundance Lab project Angel.

De Villa, 34, grew up in Mexico and says he knew at the age of seven that he wanted to make movies. He moved to the U.S. at 17 to attend the University of Miami and holds an MFA from Columbia’s grad film program, where he made prizewinning shorts Neto’s Run and Joe’s Egg. Heights launched a 50-stop fest tour at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival, and its prizes included the Los Angeles Film Festival’s Audience Award. In 2004 De Villa took 1/9 to Tribeca All Access, the festival’s production market. He ultimately secured financing in the several-million-dollar range from L.A.-based Hannibal Pictures, for whom he directed the romantic scorcher Yellow last year. Hannibal’s Steven J. Brown produced 1/9 with Washington Square Films principals Joshua Blum (Old Joy) and Amy Hobby (Secretary). The 16mm 1/9 shot throughout Manhattan and Queens for 18 days in January and February, with John Foster (Keane) as cinematographer. “We avoided the obvious shots and obvious locations and created a very strict visual language,” says De Villa. “We wanted it to feel like B&W without being B&W, so we removed color through production design and wardrobe and avoided sun by shooting in winter. It’s very monochromatic, and we’ll accentuate that through color correction.” Also in the film are Elizabeth Peña (Transamerica) and Erika Michaels (The Midnight Hour). De Villa is editing the film in Los Angeles, where he is now based.

Source: FilmmakerMagazine.com

Posted on May 08, 2006 by Stef under Adrift In Manhattan, Film News & Reviews

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