A group
of local filmmakers who created a buzz with their first
independent film, “The Legends of Cuba Road,” now are busy
finishing up its sequel.
“Return
to Cuba Road” is expected to premiere in March.
“People
still ask about it,” says Jeff Greene, Palatine Park District
theater coordinator, of the first Cuba Road film, “and there’s
a lot of interest in its sequel.”
The
original thriller is based on local legends surrounding Cuba Road,
which winds through Cuba Township near Barrington, and its aging
White Cemetery.
In the
sequel, the villain is revealed while the cast members try to
decipher what it is they saw on Cuba Road.
“There’s
more action in the sequel,” says Pat Pantelis, 19, of Palatine,
director. “It’s a lot more fun.”
Both
films are projects of CNGM Pictures, a Palatine-based, student-run
film studio. The young producers all were Fremd High School
students when they filmed the first movie, and now are college
underclassmen majoring in theater and film.
They
are Nick Hardin, 19, of Palatine; Angela Wascher, 19, of
Inverness; Charlie Franklin, 17, of Inverness; Lindsay Brown, 19,
of Inverness; and Pantelis.
“I
think the sequel is better than the first one,” says Mike Noens,
20, of Palatine, who serves as writer, executive producer and
cinematographer on the sequel. “We try to take the legends —
and there are tons of them — and record as closely as possible
what happened.”
That
differs from the first one, he adds, in which they took popular
legends whispered about for years about the dimly lit country
road, and used creative license to fill in the blanks.
The
legends are numerous, including the story of a school bus filled
with children that was hit while crossing railroad tracks. Another
explores the story about the “mob house” that vanished from an
empty lot along the road.
Greene
agrees that “chapter two” of the series shows more depth and
skill by the young filmmakers.
“You
can see a whole different level of filmmaking,” says Greene, who
taught most of the CNBM members when they were in theater classes
at Fremd. “They’ve improved every aspect, from the writing and
directing to the filming.”
The
sequel was one of three movies the group shot last summer, Greene
adds. He describes them as “prolific,” and notes that two of
their films have been entered in the Sundance and Sedona film
festivals.
Meantime,
“The Legends of Cuba Road” has been submitted to the Horror
Channel, Noens says, and he expects to do the same with the
sequel.
“We
keep trying to improve,” Noens says. “We’re using better
cameras now, and technically our movies are tighter.
“Our
goal is to get into more film festivals and get better play.”
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