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Academy Grad Triumphs with Polished Romance by Doniphan Blair with Jay Randy Gordon
Ari Kanamori and Jessiqa Pace, stars of Rick Bosner's debut, 'Fallng Uphill', enjoy a light moment. photo: Maribeth Keane
Having seen the promised cineland, I can testify! Low-budget but well -acted and -scripted indie film is alive and well in San Francisco.
Called "Falling Uphill” and written, directed and produced by Rick Bosner, it concerns a quartet of 20-somethings lost in the shuffle of recession and romance, war and art, high tech and basic survival. Serious and funny, relaxed and moving, "Falling" features tantalizing script turns, a super hotty new actress and critiques of both the old hippie and new silicon scene.
The only thing missing is brilliant camerawork but what can you do? The Canon D5, on which "Falling" was shot, creates great images but does not zoom smoothly.
"As a Hitchcock enthusiast, for years I wanted to direct a dark, suspenseful thriller," notes Richard J. “Rick” Bosner, an 2005 Academy of Art attendee who jumped into assistant producing or production managing all sorts of commercials and features upon graduation in 2005. "Falling Uphill", his directorial debut, has already captured serious kudos, notably two VisionFest awards.
"I spent a of couple years developing a film in this 'Hitchcockian' vein," he continues, in an article he wrote for Moviemaker magazine. It was published to coincide with the premiere of "Falling Uphill" at the Los Angeles United Film Festival in May 2012.
"After working on Peter Bratt’s 'La Mission', which depicts San Francisco in a very intimate and non-traditional way, I refocused my energies on a more personal project featuring San Francisco." The film also features original music by up-and-coming Bay Area musicians including Wallpaper, The Growlers, The Oh Sees, Lost Boy and Halcyonaire.
"Falling Uphill" stars newcomer Ari Kanamori as Robert, an artist who is about to bail back to his parents because working as a personal assistant for a hippie/beat poet—the only job he can get—is a futureless drag. The poet is played perfectly by the wellknown Hollywood character actor Jack McGee.
With just a few days left in San Francisco, Robert suddenly confesses his love for his roommate (well acted by the local soul singer Jena Hunt)—despite the fact she is already "in relationship" with a guy with a real job, Glen (nicely rendered by Sean McGee, no relation to Jack).
The four principals of 'Falling Uphill' get together for a drink despite their romantic conflicts. photo: courtesy R. Bosner
The show is stolen however by Jessiqa Pace as the crazed but cool homeless girl who suddenly steps into Robert's life. Pace affects this dramatic turn with a jumping-out-of-her skin move, when she is enthused or frustrated, which adds an incredible but still credible intensity to an already solid performance. Modeled on the behavior of an ex-girlfriend, Bosner taught her the affectation during two-and-a-half months of rehearsal.
A model turned actress who has also written/directed a couple of shorts, Pace is having a stellar year. Having won the Breakthrough Performance Award at VisionFest for "Falling Uphill", she also stars in the about-to-be-released feature "Ozo" by Dante Oliviero and Celik Kayalar's "99%" (see CineSource article). She will also play a flight attendant in Woody Allen's forthcoming but still untitled 2013 Summer Movie shot in San Francisco.
Casting is the better part of directing, as many have noted, and that task can be hard in San Francisco with its smaller pool of actors. But Bosner aced it, doing the casting himself, finding candidates on Craigslist and Mandy.com, an international acting service out of England, and vetting them through personal readings. The actors were paid SAG rates, albeit the ultralow category for films under $200,000.
"It's wonderful to find an engaging romantic comedy made right here in the San Francisco," said Marc Lhormer, director of the upcoming Napa Valley Film Festival, when we contacted him. "We look forward to hosting director Richard Bosner and his cast and crew and introducing them and their lovely story to our audiences."
"If you’re in your late twenties and not on route toward marriage, a mortgage in the suburbs and a steady income, then you are probably 'falling uphill'," Bosner continues in his article. "You’re someone still searching for your calling or the passion that transcends the everydayness of life."
"Our generation grew up [in] the economic boom of the late ‘90s. We thought that, upon graduating from college, we would begin a meaningful and lucrative career. But the global economic downturn brought us to our quarter-life crisis. It may not be too presumptuous to say we are the next 'Lost Generation.'”
Bosner directing Jena Hunt at magic hour on a rooftop downtown. photo: Maribeth Keane
Written over three months, "Falling" was shot with a small crew of ten or less (many from San Francisco film schools) in 16 days at over 60 Bay Area locations (virtually none of them typical tourist vistas).
"Often the skeleton crew consisted of talent, the two 5Ds, our trusty sound mixer, myself and producer Barret Hacia," Bosner said. "Our cardinal rules were to shoot no longer than ten hours and hit at least five or six locations a day."
"I knew this film could not be produced with lots of crew, a million union rules and honeywagons lining the street. With a micro-budget, that kind of production was not an option. I also wanted the audience to get a San Franciscan’s perspective. We don’t see the Golden Gate Bridge on our daily walks and cable cars aren’t constantly chiming by our front door."
"If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it is that many of the pitfalls productions face can be avoided with thorough pre-production. This is especially true when you don’t have much money."
Bosner raised over $7,000 on Kickstarter.com, after posting a $6,000 goal, for finishing funds and marketing money. The entire project was delivered, including promo, for under $100,000, a testament his ability to curry favors, shooting venues and strong acting (see his Kickstarter page).
Bosner attributes his rapid rise into Bay Area film to "a nurturing film community. Here in SF we work together to support our growth as artists and filmmakers. I always try to pay forward the knowledge and support I've been given over the years. It's karma! People like Chris Columbus, Debbie Brubaker, Brian Benson, Debra Bassett and Peter Bratt are just a few of the people who have been my corner stones."
Rob and Sarah take in a bookstore, where she presses into his hand and commands to read a copy of Miller's revolutionary cubist novel, 'Tropic of Cancer'. photo: Ron Koeberer
Originally a from Rochester, in far upstate New York, Bosner's production company is called Blue Creek Pictures after the street where he started dreaming of cinema. Admittedly, as the son of Mary Catherine and Kevin Bosner, he was already in the business. They were actors in a local theatre scene which produced Robert Forster, John Lithgow and Taye Diggs as well as Academy Award winning Philip Seymour Hoffman, opposite whom his father once played in a Neal Simon play.
“Falling Uphill” has made the festival rounds, including LA's United, Seattle's True Independent and New York's VisionFest where it captured two awards: Pace for acting and Bosner the Outstanding Achievement for Directing. “Falling” will be featured at the second annual Napa Valley Film Festival, with three screenings, starting November 7 at the Jarvis Conservatory, in Napa, followed by a show two days later in St. Helena and the following day in Yountville.
For the last few years, Bosner has been busy with all sorts of production jobs, including line producing the recent "Fruitvale" (2013) about the murdered Oscar Grant. Shot in Oakland, it was directed by Ryan Coogler and produced by Forest Whitaker. After production coordinating on “La Mission” and “Memoirs of Giesha” (2005) among other projects, he graduated to line producing on “The Chateau Meroux” (2010) and unit production manager on “After” (2010).
He will be doing much the same on "Mudjumper", written and directed by Eric Blazac, another Rochesterian, which starts filming there in 2013. In addition to advocating for film in Northern California, Bosner is a big booster of his hometown due to its long film history. Rochester is where film was developed by Kodak and it still houses a famous archive of silents and other lost films.
"While writing ['Falling''s] 90-page script, I made allowances for actor improvisation around the structure of the lines," Bosner explains. "I directed the actors so they may incorporate their own artistic vision and become the characters instead of simply reiterating lines. No take was identical. We would do a script take, an actors’ take and then open it up for experimentation. Often the best takes would be a collaboration between my original structure and the actors’ creative influence."
"DP Jesse Dana and I were inspired by the shooting style of Woody Allen’s 'Husband and Wives' [1992] and influenced by his pseudo-documentary technique, with its jump cuts and rack focus. We used two cameras to cover both angles, as each take was drastically different. We shot on 5Ds to stay light on our feet and inconspicuous at times."
Bosner, in background, directs Ari Kanamori and Jessiqa Pace at the going-away party where he tells her of his feelings. photo: Maribeth Keane
“Rick Bosner was one of those who took full advantage of the Academy of Art program,” noted Curran Engel, coordinator of the school's Producer's Program and head of Tectonic Entertainment out of Castro Valley.
"He believed in himself, and he was confident but was he was also humble. Rick was one of the best in my book."
Engel recalled when Bosner ran into director Chris Columbus while shooting a student film in Treasure Island. He parlayed that chance encounter into getting his entire crew mentor meetings with Columbus' key grips, gaffers and production coordinators, who happened to be on Treasure Island shooting “Rent” (2005).
Although the "Falling" shoot lasted just 16 days, editing by Chris Walters and Bosner took six months. With none of the takes the same, they restructured the story in countless ways. Alex Fleshman had an easier chore. In addition to composing the original music, a mixture of Django Reinhardt-style guitar with Jon Brion-production, he was the Music Supervisor, helping select songs that represent San Francisco culture.
Bosner learned from director Chris Columbus to keep people close in the filmmaking business so you always have folks to depend on—Columbus' crews were often friends from NYU film school. Columbus' 1492 Pictures also is committed to Northern California productions and benefits from the area's tight-knit media community. He also picked up on Columbus' optimism.
“I think there is a place for movies to leave people with a sense of hope," said Columbus. "If your film isn't going to do that, I just don't think it's worth making. Even in present day San Francisco with a downtrodden economy, life can be dark, unsettling, and uncertain, yet there is always hope."
Where to next for Bosner? He is already working on a script, although he won't divulge topic or genre. Perhaps it is that Hitchcockian piece he has been dreaming of since Blue Creek Street in Rochester. Either way, his concluding remarks was hardly noir-esque, rather California romantic advice to his fellow Uphill Fallers:
"While you wait, be sure to live your dreams, follow your heart and try new things." Posted on Oct 29, 2012 - 10:55 PM