"Undocumented" Makes Its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest 2010

Some documentary filmmakers never inject themselves into a story, preferring instead to let the facts flow through them via the camera lens. In "Undocumented," however, a group making a documentary about illegal immigration finds themselves an unwilling part of their own movie.

"Undocumented" made its world premiere at Austin's Fantastic Fest on September 24, accompanied by the principal cast, director and the producers. During an interview with Associated Content, writer/director Chris Peckover said the idea for the film was spawned out of the issue of illegal immigration.

"To me, this film was an opportunity to point at the thin line between patriotism and racism that happens in the U.S.," Peckover said, while sitting in the Tiki Karaoke Press Room. "The film, besides being entertaining, is perhaps an opportunity to point at that. The people that are racist aren't quite separating the people from the problem."

Peckover said that they had some pretty rigorous casting sessions that lasted for months. "I got a chance to meet Scott (Mechlowicz). He was the first one that we cast and he was just perfect for the role," Peckover said.

"What was really important to me in casting were two things. First and foremost, chemistry because even though this is a twisted story, it is a movie with heart. I really wanted all of our 'good guys' to work together and we did many 'chemistry readings'."

Peckover said that it also was important for his actors to "feel real" because they were shooting "first person" for the majority of the film. "The cast also was great improvisers. The majority of the film was not on the script," he said.

Yancey Arias, who plays Alberto Fuentes in the film, said that when he met director Chris Peckover, he felt they were going to do something special, just from the audition.

"After meeting Chris and seeing how he dealt with such a strong, obviously relevant and important matter in such a twisted way, there was such a sensitivity on his part that I knew we were going to launch into something with all our hearts, all our intelligence and all our humanity," Arias said.

When asked about the danger of getting lost in her character in such an intense film, Alona Tal, the actress who plays Liz, said that as actors, it is their job to be able to enter the characters, know where they are in the script and exit the characters freely.

"It is about being a consummate professional--showing up at work, giving 120 to 200 percent, stepping out (of character) and not taking it with us," Tal said. "I never said it wasn't exhausting. It is exhausting to be in that emotional state for 12, 13 hours, but you don't take the pain of the character with you."

Shooting began on "Undocumented" in May 2009, most of which took place at the old New Mexico State Penitentiary. Nicknamed the "Old Pen," the penitentiary was the sight of a horrific 1980 prison riot that left at least thirty-three inmates dead.

"Lots of spooky tales are in the prison, which sadly enough motivated us into believing we were in some kind of edgy situation," Arias said. "You might be shooting in the dark, and then you get a tap on the shoulder and you are like 'Whoa! What was that?'".

Actor Scott Mechlowicz, who plays Travis in "Undocumented," said that although the cast didn't see any ghosts on set, the dogs used in the film refused to go into certain places inside the Old Pen

"On set, there was very little room for levity," Mechlowicz said. "We'd come back to set after a grueling day and we'd see that this person is dying today. Then, we'd come the following day and see that this person is dying today. There was no 'And today's the wedding. We can relax.' It was pretty much constant."

Alona Tal added that the set designer on "Undocumented" did have a supernatural experience. "She was working in the women's holding area. They were adding on some colors, some rust colors. I think she was there about 5 o'clock in the morning all by herself in a room full of shoes--there were shoes everywhere. She said one of the shoes moved when she looked at it."