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9/4/2008

From 'easy A' to A+ career
Rice alumnus' film earns major awards

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

What began as a way to blow off steam as a premed major turned into an award-winning career for Chris Eska '98. He and his friend had decided to take a film class at Rice to boost their GPAs. They quickly found out that film was anything but an "easy A."

"Soon enough I found myself getting up at 5 a.m. to shoot video and staying up all hours of the night in an editing bay," Eska said. "I loved it."

That passion and dedication have stayed with Eska and fueled him to write, direct and edit "August Evening," a feature film about an undocumented Mexican farm worker in the U.S. and his young, widowed daughter-in-law as they navigate life changes.

	"August Evening," a feature film by Rice alumnus Chris Eska '98, explores the lives of an undocumented Mexican farm worker in the U.S. and his young, widowed daughter-in-law.

"I like to tell stories that are close to my own emotions," Eska said. "They are very different on paper from my stories, but the emotions, the human elements, the family drama, they're a common thread."

Entirely in Spanish, "August Evening" has transcended many of the roadblocks of other foreign language films. Among other accolades, it won the "Best Feature Film" award at the Los Angeles Film Festival, netting the $50,000 prize that covered the less than $40,000 in production costs. At the festival it also won the "Best Acting Ensemble" award.

Help from home

Eska and crew were able to keep the budget low by filming in his hometown, Gonzales, Texas. The entire community came together to support Eska's film, donating on-set meals and filling in supporting cast roles.

"You get all the help you need when you go home," Eska said.

"August Evening"
Learn more about the film written and directed by Rice’s Chris Eska Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts
Learn more about the programs and art performances in the Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts Eska also found help in his Rice connections. His co-producer, Jason Wehling '98, left his job at PBS to work on "August Evening" and brought his PBS colleague Connie Hill with him. Wehling also called upon some Rice friends: Joseph McKeel '02 to operate the boom microphone, Joseph Maloney '98 to help with graphic design and Andrew Hughes '00 to do some voice-over work.

"Rice definitely made an impact on me," Eska said. "I owe a lot to my professors, especially Brian Huberman and Elizabeth Long. Brian taught me how to be a truly independent filmmaker, and Elizabeth encouraged cultural and sociological research that led to my style of filmmaking." Huberman is chair of the Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts, and Long is chair of the Department of Sociology.

Eska aims to infuse his films with emotions not often seen in feature films. He said that most films are wrapped up in tidy packages that don't reflect life.

"Things are ambiguous or unfinished in life, in family," Eska said. "There's an inevitability of change."

He attributes the success of "August Evening" to its ability to capture those themes and relate them across cultures.

"I didn't make it exclusively for the Latino community," Eska said. "I didn't make it to be political. However, if it changes the way people think, then I'm happy."

A local hero

The crew also kept costs down by using relatively unknown actors who were sold on the beauty of the script and the chance to be part of an important project. None of the cast members -- even lead actors Pedro Castaneda and Veronica Loren -- were paid.

Eska had begun casting in California and Texas in May 2005, but a bit of serendipity led him to cross paths with Castaneda on the streets of San Antonio. Castaneda had never worked as an actor -- he was working as a computer network installer -- but Eska convinced him to read the script. Castaneda signed up and began months of intense rehearsals.

Castaneda earned the a nomination for Best Male Lead at the Independent Spirit Awards, where the film won the John Cassavetes Award for Best Feature. Other awards include Best Cinematography at the Phoenix Film Festival, Maverick Award for Best Film at the Woodstock Film Festival, Best Film at the Ashland Independent Film Festival and the "Best First Feature" award at the International Latino Film Festival-San Francisco Bay Area.

"Pedro has become sort of a local hero in Laredo where he lives," Eska said.

Eska himself hasn't had time to enjoy a local-hero status -- he's been and will continue to be on the road promoting "August Evening." The film was recently picked up by distributor Maya Entertainment group and opens this month in New York City, San Antonio and Los Angeles. Details are still being worked out for the Houston release, which will probably occur in October or November.

He is also trying to finish scripts on a variety of topics: cave diving, the Mexican mafia and rural life in India.

"I want to change and do something radically different with my next film," Eska said.

For more information on "August Evening" and to see updated release dates, visit www.augustevening.com.