Columbia alumni debut indie feature film, capturing the dark side of the ‘American dream’

By Doris Dadayan
A&E Editor

Lana's Rain, an independent film project by Columbia alumni Michael Ojeda and Joel Goodman, makes its world premiere Feb. 27 at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave.

The film made its sold-out debut at the 2002 Chicago International Film Festival. The following year, Oksana Orlenko won the Best Actress Award at the Milan International Film Festival for her lead role as Lana.

Childhood friends and filmmakers since the fourth grade, writer and director Ojeda and producer Goodman teamed up to make Lana's Rain, the first big movie release through their company, Reigning Pictures.

Set in 1993, the movie tells the story of Lana, a 19-year-old Croatian woman who loses her family during the Bosnian War. The only family Lana has left is her long-lost gangster brother, Darko (played by Nickolai Stoilov), a wanted criminal who illegally flees Croatia to live in America under a new identity. With no family left in Croatia, Lana decides to join him in pursuit of a new life in a free world.

But the hopes and dreams for a better life promised to her by her brother are destroyed when Darko deceives her with lies, upon their arrival in Chicago.

He sells Lana into prostitution to make money for himself. She then is   driven to do whatever it takes to break free from a world of misfortune, pain and the harsh struggle for survival.

Ojeda was nspired by a Time magazine article during the height of the Bosnian War when the European prostitution trade was at an all-time high with family members prostituting family members on the street. He then decided to begin working on a screenplay about a woman who gets caught up in that world, then manages to break free.

Goodman, a Columbia film and video graduate, said the movie took two and a half months to make. Part of it was filmed in the summer and part of it in the winter to catch the change of seasons. The film was mostly shot in Chicago, capturing the darkness and shadows of the Windy City, with scenes from more than 70 locations. The opening scene was shot in Croatia.

According to Goodman, the movie was originally titled Promised Land but was later changed to Lana's Rain because of the lead character's name as well as a scene where Lana is caught in the rain--a symbol of her life, like a dark cloud that follows her wherever she goes.

But, like the main character in the film, the movie had its own struggle to find a niche in Hollywood.

According to Goodman, when the movie was sent to Hollywood companies, the response from screeners was amazing. Screeners said they couldn't believe the filmmakers made Lana's Rain at just under $300,000. Goodman said there has been controversy over what they've done with the budget, with companies saying that there is no way a movie of that nature could be filmed at just under $300,000.

Although response from critics has been positive, distributors felt that because the movie had subtitles, dark subject matter and no stars, there wouldn't be a big enough ethnic audience to make marketing the movie worthwhile.

"We're telling [Hollywood] that there is a huge ethnic audience out there--refugees, people from different countries--who want to see an immigrant come to the country and succeed ...,"Goodman said.

"We feel that when Lana's Rain comes out, we're going to show the world that they matter, because Hollywood pretty much says this audience doesn't count.

"Everyone always said that Lana's Rain is the small film that could," he said."It really is a movie that can be marketed, and we want to prove to Hollywood that there is an audience in Chicago that's going to come see the film."

Lana's Rain will premier Feb. 27 at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., and will continue through Feb. 29. There will be a Q-and-A session with the filmmakers and the stars of the movie following the 7:20 p.m. show on Feb. 27. and the 9:40 p.m. show on Feb. 28.

To purchase tickets in advance and at a student discount of $6, please call (312)274-2355 or visit www.lanasrainthemovie.com