Vanessa McMahon

Multi-talented Argentinian director/writer/producer Miguel Mas shares
his thoughts and feelings of his recent film Love Equation (2009)

ME: Can you speak a little bit about Love Equation and what it is about?

MIGUEL: The film features an exceptional story line of love counting issues of
friends that are involved in such particular feeling: sensibilities and
weaknesses of human beings are two critical elements in the film, in a
way we are connected to love. Esteban fights against his past, present
and future as he writes, as he creates, as he lives. His journey through
the deepest side level of love begins when Viviana challenges his
feelings with a terrible request. The memories of the decision he made
by granting her request haunt him through the videotape that he
delivered for Viviana. As part of the story, Viviana’s friends question
their own friendship after the loss of Viviana. The key to their
happiness is now trapped in Viviana’s tape. Esteban portrays an
intellectual transformation on what his life will be. And Love
Equation is a mixes of love, carnal, unique, human, wild and innocence,
and also a denial… and Viviana makes this cruel decision because she
thinks that doing that she will make her friends free, and also her
free. Walking naked in life. I want to share a mission to unite
throughout cinema using important stories to tell. I am so pleased for
having such an extraordinary music composer, Emilio Kauderer, (The
Secret in their Eyes), because the story couldn’t be told better without
him. “Thank you Emilio.” The movie is going to be premiere at the
Broadway International Film Festival Los Angeles, on July 31 at 7:00 PM.
Here is the Festival info: http://www.biff-la.com/

ME: Awesome, Miguel. Congratulations on such an accomplishment!
Can you tell us why you became so passionate for this story and what
you truly want to communicate to the world with it?

MIGUEL:
To make this film was pretty much “for needs” trying to get out there
and show that we can make a different aspect and projection on how they
see us here, as Latinos. We are a group of Latinos friends, we had
dinner after yoga class and discuss what we can do to make a little
change and not going more to the same auditions (drug dealers, maid,
crossing borders, drug addict, etc) So we said, why if we think about an
idea and make a film. I have the company and I would love to direct,
since I am working on a project that I would love to develop and direct
also. So in the meantime, if I direct a short film it will be great. So
the next day one of the actors came back with this idea: What about we
have 5 friends, 2 gays, 2 straights and a girl. And one of the gay guys
find out a tape and a letter from her saying that they need to meet all
and see this tape, which in the tape she will revel what she did
individually with them, and that’s why she decided to disappear. So, I
love the idea and I said I would like to write the script. I did it in 7
days and we all read together and we all went happy and decided to make
a short film. So we did it in 9 days and we film in just weekends. Then
I used a cameo, with a famous Latino actor Fernando Carrillo who
delivers the tape. So the short came out good, I think, but the
storyline was too heavy. So I always was thinking “what if” we could
make this as a feature film. But after a few festivals I got tired and
moved on. I continued making a few more shorts and when all stop in my
life; no new scripts were accepted, and I guess that come to my personal
reason to why I continuing making my own projects, and I got finally my
mac book pro, so I saw the footage of the short film and I realize that
this can be made as feature film using all this footage plus I can
re-write something and make this done. So I wrote this time changing
lead theme of the movie and going to see what happen if we see more of
the guy who delivers the tape, so I focus on that and walla… Love
Equation has a new beginning or will have a new end. “I HOPE THIS STORY
TOUCHES MANY HEARTS AND MAKES PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THE SENSIBILITIES AND
WEAKNESSES OF HUMAN BEINGS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR LOVE AND TRYING TO FIND
THEMSELVES.”

ME: I can tell just by the way you speak about it that this film has
been made with a great amount of thought and love; so in a way,
Love Equation is in itself a 'love equation' :-) Can you tell us a little
about the production? Any stories about during the filming?

MIGUEL: As a first time opera prima director, it is obvious that I would say
that this is an important and special project, but Love Equation it is
very special. I shot this movie in two parts... for obvious reasons:
“the budget”; first part which is half of the movie in 9 days and the
other half in 2 days and a sunset. That’s why it becomes more special to
me. At the end of the project “we love it more” since everyone involved
was doing this with a lot of passion. So, like all independent
productions, dealing with many issues and not having an assistant
director was a big challenge for me in my first feature film. Also being
a producer that was a challenge, in one hand you have all the powers to
do what you want, but in the other you said how I’m gonna do this with
no money and how I will make it happen. But we did it. They were
sometimes that the crew was ready to quit, thank God the actors wanted
to stay, lol. At least they were friends, right. So, the first part,
coming from a short film, was already there and we did have some big
issues during that shooting; especially one night that I can remember:
We shot in a living room where we have a big TV and a sofa where the
friends were watching the video, so that night, it was Sunday, a Golden
Globes night, and the owner of the house invited a few friends to watch
the Golden Globes and he wanted to watch it in “that living room.” So,
we have to shot the scenes between commercials… and that was a big
challenge. In the second part, only two days and a sunset. On the first
day of film we all were waiting for the sex scene, and it became the
most challenging, which for me it was my first sex scene ever, off course,
and for the actors and the crew too. But we all enjoyed it. We even
laughed, we cried, we got focused, we concentrated and we laughed, and
the scene was made so good. You’ll see. The second day was challenge
because we have to finish at the house by 5 PM, because we have to go to
Lee Strasberg Theater to do the last scene on stage when the actor was
transform and he has two hours of make up. Everybody got frustrated and
for some reason, maybe I have to, but I was relaxed. And I knew if the
universe put me here, it was because I can make it done. We finished at
10 PM… and it was so good. And then all was done, we shoot all in Mini
DV to continue with the same footage we have before and be faster. Even
we know now we have a lot of new technology. So the big issue for me was
“how I am going to do the post production” And I guess the angels were
there for me. I start meeting with the right people for the post and I
am so pleased with them. They saved my movie. We did a nice digital
transfer, nice color correction and it looks like is one full new movie,
you’ll see. And the Editor Jose Jesus Paredes save me, it was a very
difficult peace to put it all together, and he did it. So happy with the
result, understand me “for what we can manage for a ultra low budget
film.” Love Equation was shot in Los Angeles. I always say: If I made
this film so independently and is SAG; imagine if we have a producer
that want to make an independent film with a nice budget, not a studio
budget, but something… all the things we can do… all the good stories
that are there flying to get inside to the right actor to become alive…
like spermatozoids.

ME: LOL! Like spermatozoids! Interesting simile! :-) So, Miguel,
what are your next projects? Would you like to speak of Ayer?

MIGUEL:
I have a few scripts that I wrote, and I am developing one specific.
It’s special project that I wrote and we have a great cast and artist
attached, and looking for the right producer, and I would love to direct
more so I am very open to receive any new scripts to be considered in my
next director project, also being an actor love to have a great role and
to make it alive. But we can’t say much, because the company Mas &
More Entertainment is making a huge transition and now with Cesar
Giraldo, a great friend of mine and one of the lead actors in Love
Equation is joining us as one of the directors of the company and we’ll
reveal soon the new material and the new level on how Mas & More
Entertainment will continue to grow. Regarding Ayer is my 4
short film, 27 minutes, and I shot it in Argentina. I was having a
vacation in Argentina and I went to the cemetery and I saw a hall,
suddenly my mind couldn’t stop thinking about making a story out of it
before my trip ended, so I invited a few friends that are actors and
also my sisters act too… it become very special. I wrote the story in
two hours and I shot it in one and a half days… It’s the story of a kid
that grows up after he dies. He gets out of his grave and visits his
past. “I would love to develop more this story and turn it into a
feature length film.” I shot by myself with my mini DV camera and it’s
my first movie as editor too. It’s gonna be premiere at Broadway
International Film Festival Los Angeles on July 31 and you can check the
Festival website for more info. http://www.biff-la.com/

Writer/Director/Producer Miguel Mas