'SC, UCLA students team up for film

The film 'Palo Alto' looks at four college students at home for Thanksgiving.

By Victor Farfan
Celluloid and Sound

The poster for their film "Palo Alto"
Director Brad Leong getting ready to shoot the next scene Photo: Paloaltothemovie.com

Films such as "American Graffiti" and "The Breakfast Club" created long-lasting bonds with audiences because they seemed to perfectly capture the reality of a generation's youth.

Brad Leong, a junior majoring in cinema critical studies, and Daniel Engelhardt, a UCLA junior majoring in economics, hope they've created a film that resonates just as deeply.

Their film, "Palo Alto," takes place in the Northern California town and centers on four college freshmen as they return home during their Thanksgiving break for the first time since they left for college.

The film follows the four friends on the last night of their break as they each undergo life-changing experiences.

"It's a classic coming-of-age story," said Engelhardt, the film's producer.

The film's script was written in 2004 by Leong, who also directed the film, and high-school friend Tony Vallone, a UCLA junior majoring in mechanical engineering.

Both grew up in Palo Alto, and although Leong said it's not autobiographical, he admitted, "there are a lot of elements that draw from actual events."

Leong and Engelhardt attended different high schools but shared a love for film.

As friends, they made films about themselves and others, including a fundraising video for a nonprofit organization and an informational video for an insurance company.

With two years of college under its belts, the team began filming "Palo Alto" last summer.

To film the script, they needed financing.

Some might believe the label of "student filmmaker" is a setback in gathering funds because the term might suggest a lack of experience, but Engelhardt said otherwise.

"I think it's a huge asset to be a student filmmaker, especially on this project in which we were bridging the gap between an independent film and a student film," he said. "It excites (investors) that we're young and students because they hope we'll be the next Spielberg."

They managed to raise a budget of $200,000 from a combination of private investors, people they knew and anyone else who saw business opportunities in the film.

Although $200,000 might seem small in comparison to the astronomical costs of mainstream movies, Engelhardt said, "The resources that we had were comparable to that of a $5 million budget."

The cameras were borrowed from Panavision, and Kodak provided the film.

In addition, the community of Palo Alto warmly received the crew as it filmed this past summer.

The filmmakers said they were not required to pay to film at any of the locations, including Palo Alto High School, Menlo-Atherton High and several residential neighborhoods, they said.

The film also boasts a wealth of well-known actors, including Ben Savage ("Boy Meets World"), Autumn Reeser ("The OC"), Aaron Ashmore ("Veronica Mars") and Tom Arnold.

What makes "Palo Alto" distinctive is that it's a collaborative effort among students from different colleges, spanning from UCLA and The Academy of Visual and Performing Arts to Dartmouth and even Culver City High School.

These students contributed to the overall success of the production, whether they were assistant directors, grips, production designers, lighting coordinators, makeup artists or gaffers.

Right now the film is in post-production. Kevin Gasca and Daniel Walker, who are both film production majors at Loyola Marymount, are editing the film.

Once the finished product is complete and distributors are found, they hope to release the film early next year.

When asked about his hopes for the film, Leong said, "More than anything, I just hope that people connect with the characters, are interested in the storyline and find some grain of truth in the characters we shaped. That's really all I want out of this film."