Los Angeles – Radhaa Nilia Productions and ZF Creative celebrate the Premiere Screening of their latest film, entitled ‘Freight Train’, at the Indie Fest International Film Festival in Garden Grove, CA. Screening of the short film will take place on October 24th, immediately following the 8:00 p.m. showing of “Hope Cafe”, also a Radhaa Nilia Production.
The much anticipated ‘Freight Train’ was shot in Malibu, Palm Springs, and the Hollywood Hills. Director Zen Freese, of ZF Creative, says: “Freight Train is a thought provoking film that deals with the darker side of relationships and the choices people make.” The leading lady in the film, Radhaa Nilia, who does double duty on this project, as she is also the film’s Executive Producer. As a multimedia artist with a background in film-making and acting, she states: “I couldn’t be more excited to have two of my films showing back to back on the opening night of the Indie Fest International Film Festival.” The films leading role is played by Raymond Bagatsing, who has won four best supporting actor film awards in the Philippines, and is widely recognized throughout Asia as a powerhouse actor.
Attendees will be able to meet and speak to Radhaa Nilia who will be present at the screening followed by a Q&A afterwards.
To purchase tickets click on www.indiefestusa.com.
For more info visit www.radhaaniliaproductions.com
and www.zfcreative.com
Radhaa Nilia is a multi media artist, actress, producer, and founder of Radhaa Nilia Productions. We spoke with her earlier about her directorial debut with Hope Cafe, and now with her second film, Freight Train, premiering, we had to get the scoop:
Why did you Produce freight Train?
This film is a fairly objective exploration of the consequences of one’s choices in life. I wanted to produce ‘Freight Train’ because I like films that are created from real life stories, and yet have universal appeal. The film is loosely based on the experience of someone that I knew, who had been suffering profoundly when a relationship shattered. I stood by him as a friend, and the burning intensity of the experience left a huge impression on me.
This is a dark and exquisite short film, it left me wanting more, why didn’t you make it into a full feature film?
In this film, we wanted to capture one moment in suspended time between two worlds. Even the most powerful moments we experience in life are mostly short lived, but our approach was to laser focus on one human life at a singularly intense, almost timeless, moment . Although the film is a short, there was nothing that we felt was left out. The story is laid out clearly, though the conclusion leaves the viewer to think for themselves. We wanted to leave the audience with an open ended question, something to dwell on afterwards, and hopefully discuss with friends.
This film was well done, who was the Director and Writer?
My brother, Zen Freese ( ZF Creative), is the writer and director of ‘Freight Train’. He is a full time Commercial Director in Portland, Oregon. I really look up to my brother, and I appreciate his high standards in film making (he’s a Virgo and thus a perfectionist). His attention to detail as storyteller and director is truly admirable, and the script that he wrote perfectly captured the experience I wanted to convey. He also understands peoples’ skill sets, strengths and limitations. As a Director, Zen knows how to bring out the very best in actors. It was such a rich experience being there working and co-creating with him. A dream come true really! Visit his website: http://www.zfcreative.com
Who was the lead Actor, he was amazing!
The main lead is Raymond Bagatsing, an acclaimed and award winning actor in Asia. I worked with him on my first Indie Film project called Hope Cafe. We filmed ‘Freight Train’ in the middle of relentless 100 degree desert heat. The sun mercilessly beat us down, but Raymond stayed absolutely focused and uncomplaining, and was able to complete his scenes flawlessly. It was quite miraculous really, and I am still in awe of him. He’s the real deal!
You play a role in the film, and it’s not a nice one, tell us about your role.
I played a very cold character in the film, quite different than anything else that I’ve done. The film was my idea, and someone needed to play that role, someone who really understood it… so, why not?
I heard that filming in the Desert is a dangerous place these days?
Frankly, it was like being in the midst of a crime scene. The first day of shooting, the police came by and they were searching for a body! There was a whole team of them scrounging every inch of the desert and we had to pack up and move everything, after we had already set up our camp! It was really tough to re-pack all the film equipment in that heat wave and move to a new location. That sucked up a lot of time and energy, and we lost half a day. The next morning while having breakfast, we saw on the news they recovered a body from that area. It was both sad and creepy. Anyway, it was over a 100 degrees that day, and we drove really far out, so we would not be disturbed during this shoot. We only had one day left and had to make up for the lost time. We went all the way up to the desert cliffs in a very isolated place, and then within an hour some police pulled up again. They got out, and told us to be on the lookout because someone was running loose with a gun in the area, and was considered armed and dangerous. They warned us, but we could not afford to move again, so we just kept filming even though there was a leering threat in proximity. That was a crazy experience, and I found it ironic that the subject we were touching on worked so close to that same edge. The film brings up the question: how far will someone go to survive? I won’t tell you what happens in this film, but I invite you to watch it!
We have been accepted as an official selection at the Indie Fest International Film Festival. Freight Train screens Oct 24th, right after Hope Cafe at 8pm. I am very honored to have both of my films screening one after the other.
You can get tickets here: www.indiefestusa.com
For more information of upcoming projects: www.radhaaniliaproductions.com
Q&A with Producer/Actress Radhaa Nilia on making of “Freight Train”
Radhaa Nilia is a multi media artist, actress, producer, and founder of Radhaa Nilia Productions.
Why did you Produce freight Train?
This film is a fairly objective exploration of the consequences of one’s choices in life. I wanted to produce ‘Freight Train’ because I like films that are created from real life stories, and yet have universal appeal. The film is loosely based on the experience of someone that I knew, who had been suffering profoundly when a relationship shattered. I stood by him as a friend, and the burning intensity of the experience left a huge impression on me.
This is a dark and exquisite short film, it left me wanting more, why didn’t you make it into a full feature film?
In this film, we wanted to capture one moment in suspended time between two worlds. Even the most powerful moments we experience in life are mostly short lived, but our approach was to laser focus on one human life at a singularly intense, almost timeless, moment . Although the film is a short, there was nothing that we felt was left out. The story is laid out clearly, though the conclusion leaves the viewer to think for themselves. We wanted to leave the audience with an open ended question, something to dwell on afterwards, and hopefully discuss with friends.
This film was well done, who was the Director and Writer?
My brother, Zen Freese ( ZF Creative), is the writer and director of ‘Freight Train’. He is a full time Commercial Director in Portland, Oregon. I really look up to my brother, and I appreciate his high standards in film making (he’s a Virgo and thus a perfectionist). His attention to detail as storyteller and director is truly admirable, and the script that he wrote perfectly captured the experience I wanted to convey. He also understands peoples’ skill sets, strengths and limitations. As a Director, Zen knows how to bring out the very best in actors. It was such a rich experience being there working and co-creating with him. A dream come true really! Visit his website: http://www.zfcreative.com
Who was the lead Actor, he was amazing!
The main lead is Raymond Bagatsing, an acclaimed and award winning actor in Asia. I worked with him on my first Indie Film project called Hope Cafe. We filmed ‘Freight Train’ in the middle of relentless 100 degree desert heat. The sun mercilessly beat us down, but Raymond stayed absolutely focused and uncomplaining, and was able to complete his scenes flawlessly. It was quite miraculous really, and I am still in awe of him. He’s the real deal!
You play a role in the film, and it’s not a nice one, tell us about your role.
I played a very cold character in the film, quite different than anything else that I’ve done. The film was my idea, and someone needed to play that role, someone who really understood it… so, why not?
I heard that filming in the Desert is a dangerous place these days?
Frankly, it was like being in the midst of a crime scene. The first day of shooting, the police came by and they were searching for a body! There was a whole team of them scrounging every inch of the desert and we had to pack up and move everything, after we had already set up our camp! It was really tough to re-pack all the film equipment in that heat wave and move to a new location. That sucked up a lot of time and energy, and we lost half a day. The next morning while having breakfast, we saw on the news they recovered a body from that area. It was both sad and creepy. Anyway, it was over a 100 degrees that day, and we drove really far out, so we would not be disturbed during this shoot. We only had one day left and had to make up for the lost time. We went all the way up to the desert cliffs in a very isolated place, and then within an hour some police pulled up again. They got out, and told us to be on the lookout because someone was running loose with a gun in the area, and was considered armed and dangerous. They warned us, but we could not afford to move again, so we just kept filming even though there was a leering threat in proximity. That was a crazy experience, and I found it ironic that the subject we were touching on worked so close to that same edge. The film brings up the question: how far will someone go to survive? I won’t tell you what happens in this film, but I invite you to watch it!
We have been accepted as an official selection at the Indie Fest International Film Festival. Freight Train screens Oct 24th, right after Hope Cafe at 8pm. I am very honored to have both of my films screening one after the other.
You can get tickets here: www.indiefestusa.com
For more information of upcoming projects: www.radhaaniliaproductions.com