Year: 2007

Running Time: 128:00

Writer/Editor/Director: Chris Eska

Producers: Jason Wehling, Connie Hill

Cinematographer: Yasu Tanida

Music: Windy & Carl, Takagi Masakatsu, Jonathan Hughes, Mono

Cast: Pedro Castaneda, Veronica Loren, Abel Becerra, Walter Perez, Sandra Rios, Cesar Flores

Category: Narrative Feature

Language: English and Spanish with English subtitles

Jaime is an undocumented worker at a Texas chicken farm. His days are filled with the back-breaking monotony of factory work, but his private life with wife Maria and widowed daughter-in-law Lupe is rich in affection and the security of having people to come home to. When tragedy leaves Lupe and Jaime with only each other, they are forced to seek out a new home and redefine their notions of family.

At the heart of the story is the conflict between generations. Aging parents and grown children have difficulty expressing both their love for and mutual disappointment in each other. A father recognizes the unstoppable force of time and must say goodbye to his daughter so she can start her own life. 

The film is naturalistic in tone, featuring humming cicadas, ethereal music, chicken farms, meaningful glances, and rustling leaves. It includes subtle romance, gentle humor, and heartbreaking tragedy.

AUGUST EVENING, UCLA film school grad Chris Eska’s accomplished debut feature, provides a welcome throwback to a time when American independent movies were something more than “calling cards” for their makers to leave at the doors of the Hollywood studios. There’s nothing flashy or sensational in Eska’s unhurried drama about an undocumented Texas farm worker (nonprofessional actor Pedro Castaneda) who takes to the road with his widowed daughter-in-law (newcomer Veronica Loren) after losing his wife and his job in rapid succession. Nor is there the patronizing “humanism” that can sometimes rear its ugly head when a filmmaker turns his attention to those less fortunate. Shot in Spanish, in and around San Antonio, AUGUST EVENING occasionally seems rote in its conflicts and could benefit from a slightly shorter running time, but the powerful, lived-in performances and Eska’s keen understanding of the reciprocal disappointments between parents and children make for a deeply absorbing viewing experience. --LA WEEKLY

Screenings: Mill Valley Film Festival, Santa Fe Film Festival, SXSW, International Latino Film Festival

Awards: Independent Spirit Award--2008 Cassavetes Award (for Best Film with a Budget Under 500K); Target Filmmaker Award for Best Narrative Feature, Los Angeles Film Festival; Maverick Award for Best Film, Woodstock Film Festival

Trailer: http://www.augustevening.com/

augusteveningtrailer.html

Chris Eska studied sociology and art at Rice University before attending UCLA's MFA film directing program. His films have screened on PBS, at the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Competition, the Texas Filmmaker's Showcase, and at film festivals worldwide. DOKI-DOKI, his UCLA master's thesis film, premiered on the national PBS series Independent Lens with an introduction by Susan Sarandon. AUGUST EVENING is his first feature and is a two-time Texas Filmmakers Production Fund recipient.

Jason Wehling grew up outside of Austin, Texas and studied film at Rice University in Houston. After school, he worked in Los Angeles in commercial production and in Washington, DC, where he served on the programming team at PBS headquarters. In 2005, he returned to Austin to get back into production, and has since worked as a producer on a variety of narrative and documentary projects, including AUGUST EVENING, a PBS documentary called A PLACE TO DANCE, and television programming for The Weather Channel. He’s now in development on an animated feature narrative and a documentary about the sushi industry.

Day: Saturday, March 29

Time: 8:00 PM

Location: Independence Hall, UACCB

Admission: $5 / $4 Seniors & Students / $3 Members

Director Chris Eska and producer Jason Wehling attending