The process of filmmaking has never been an easy one… From conception, to casting, to actual filming, it’s an undertaking in which Murphy’s Law is the only real guarantee. And even on those rare occasions when everything does miraculously come together, there’s still the issue of funding the feature’s necessary – and ever increasing – marketing costs. Fortunately in recent years, many indie filmmakers -insistent on telling their stories, their way – have learned to harness the power of social media.
When actor and playwright Richard Montoya set about translating his Award Winning 2006 stagework, ‘Water & Power’ to the screen, he faced the usual obstacles that come up against a first time filmmaker who isn’t making a movie about superheroes, vampires, or butt-kicking teen girls in a post-apocalyptic world. Sure, he had in his corner the fact that this was a powerful crime saga in the vein of ‘The Godfather’ and ‘The Departed’ about two East LA brothers whose very different life paths – one a senator, one a crooked cop – suddenly intersect dramatically; but with a largely Latino cast of incredibly talented if not marquee stars, investors weren’t exactly throwing money at him.
Nonetheless, Montoya rounded up his dream team of performers – led by Enrique Murciano as the politician, and heartthrob, Nicholas Gonzalez as the corrupt officer, and in only 12 days of shooting on the streets of LA, managed to fully capture his vision. Now, the film, opening on May 2nd, is already garnering rave reviews from critics and festival audiences alike, but more importantly, Water & Power’s marketing campaign – focusing heavily on maintaining Twitter, Facebook and Instagram presences – continues to attract fans and influential power-players alike to the project – including Oscar-Nominee, Edward James Olmos, often called The Godfather of Latino cinema – who’s own production company has come aboard to help distribute the film.
Last year, the surprise word of mouth box office hit, ‘Instructions Not Included’ proved to Hollywood that Latino audiences not only want to see stories about themselves onscreen, but that they’re also a demographic with some real purchasing power. A low budget labor of love, the film has become the highest grossing Spanish language film in the US, frequently dominating social media during its theatrical run, and surely helping to open up Hollywood’s otherwise notoriously myopic mind.
The change can be felt with the wide release of films like last month’s Diego Luna directed ‘Cesar Chavez’ and the upcoming ‘La Vida Robot’… and now with the fast-building heat surrounding ‘Water & Power’, it appears that the days of Latino filmmakers having to work outside the system – a la Robert Rodriguez – to make the kinds of films that they truly want to make, might at last be coming to an end. Ahh the power of social media…
CLICK HERE to see the trailer for WATER & POWER