I recently had the opportunity to watch the independent film “Ekaj” by writer/director Cati Gonzalez. For those of you who read my review on Filmotomy.com, you would see I felt it is one of the best independent films I’ve seen this year. Dealing with themes of runaways, the hard life of NYC, and homosexuality, the film is an anthem to the human spirit while making subtle yet profound insights into the LGBTQ lifestyle and the issues that come along with that identification.
The Movie Buff had the opportunity to talk to Cati about its themes, its reception, and what is next for the director. We would like to thank Cati for participating in this interview and for making it possible. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a reply in the comment section below
Movie Buff: Hi, can you introduce yourself to our readers?
Cati Gonzalez: Sure. I’m the writer, director and Cinematographer of the Film ‘Ekaj,’ I was a fashion and street photographer for 20 years in NYC. My has been featured in magazines such as Vogue, New York, Spin, ID, Interview, VIBE, Teen, Mademoiselle, COLORS, and many others. I’ve photographed people such as David Cronenberg, Russell Simmons, Chloe Sevigne, Ingrid Casares, Jon Secada, Brand Nubian, Notorious B.I.G, Pharrell Williams, Common, DJ Muggs (Cypress Hill,) Beenie Man, among other artists.
In 2012 I decided to transition into moving images and filmed my first film ‘Ekaj’ which I wrote and directed.
MB: I was very impressed with your film. It addresses a wide range of thematic and relevant topics. How did you come up with the concept for this film? What shaped your vision?
CG: Real life in NY. Through out my street photography I encountered many young runaway kids (New York is full of them.) I was always fascinated by them. I wrote the script inspired by the ’70s film “Midnight Cowboy,” There are many people that I have known, that had similar lives, so I had plenty of material to work with.
MB: Can you talk a bit about funding for your film?
CG: At first, it was all out of our own pockets. Then we decided blindly to start an online crowd funding campaign back in 2012 on Kickstarter.com which eventually caught the eye of an investor who decided to invest in the production of the film. We then had to raise money a second time via crowd funding to help with the post-production costs but again, most of it was out of pocket with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.
MB: One of the most interesting things I found about your film was that the cast was comprised of non-actors. Can you explain why you made this decision? And how did you end up with the cast you used for your movie?
CG: Again, going back to my photography years, I used to take pictures of non-model street kids for fashion layouts, I thought they had something I couldn’t get in a model. They were kids on the street that had more fashion sense than the best stylists in NYC. It started with one of those kids “Jake” who plays ‘Ekaj” and another kid who I knew, “Gio.”
I thought these kids could interpret the characters in the script because they had lived the life themselves and could understand it better than any actor could. Then came Badd Idea later on.
MB: Did you run into any challenges while filming? If so, what were they? What was your experience filming in NYC?
It was my first film so yes, there were challenges for us. I learned a lot about the importance of sound and editing. I’m sure next time I make a film I can apply what I’ve learned. Also, it was not easy to make a film with troubled kids. It had its ups and downs and would be a bit overwhelming at times.
NYC was my theatre where I took my pictures for 20 years so making the movie and filming it in NYC was just an extension to what I was already doing.
MB: Can you walk us through what is going on in Ekaj’s head during this movie? What are his motivations, thoughts, fears, desires? Is he running away or towards something?
CG: Ekaj is a teen looking for love, yet nobody loves him. Everybody cheats him, robs him, and rejects him with the exception of Mecca who is there to pick up the pieces. Just like that song “looking for love in so many faces,” he’s delusional about love and drugs.
MB: The Film touches on some subjects that confront members of the LGBTQ community. Can you talk about some of the issues that stuck out the most to you when writing this film? Do you feel the film will have a positive effect on society? What message do you want viewers to walk away from your film with?
CG: To me all homeless runaway kids are all at great risk of being raped or abused, whether they are gay, straight, black, asian, latino or white. Every individual is a world with it’s own story, and I’ve always been fascinated by the underdogs.
MB: I found the relationship between Ekaj and Mecca one of the film’s most intruiging aspects. What do you think is going on there? What do they find in each other ?
CG: Mecca sees Ekaj as his own self and tries to protect him from making the same mistakes that he made. Mecca, while being a mess himself, becomes the only voice of reason for Ekaj. What they find in each other is the love they don’t get anywhere else.
MB: Can you tell us a bit about how the Film has been received?
CG: The film was selected and screened at 57 film festivals worldwide garnishing 24 awards and several nominations. It was pretty well received throughout our entire festival run.
In 2017 we decided to distribute the film with Indie Rights so now it’s up on several VOD platforms like Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube Movies, Google Play, and others.
We’ve actually been getting a lot of positive reviews lately online (of course we’ve also had a few negatives ones as well) but many films go through this, even the big Hollywood ones. Some get it and others don’t. It is what it is. We do hope that more people will support the film by watching it and recommending it to others.
MB: Do you have any upcoming projects int the future? If so can you talk a little about these?
CG: Yes. I have a feature screenplay titled “Sarai” which was just nominated for ‘Best Screenplay’ at the 2018 Newark International Film Festival and officially selected to the 2018 Oaxaca Film Festival in Mexico and the 2018 Queen Palm Film Festival. We’ve submitted it to several festivals and screenplay competitions and are applying to some grants, so we hope that something positive will come out of it that can lead into further development and actual production.
I’m also writing another feature screenplay as we speak but can’t give much details about it yet. All I can say is that this one I’m the most proud of.
My short script titled “I’m Not Going To Hurt You” has recently been nominated for ‘Best Concept’ in a short script at the 2018 Queen Palm Film Festival and is currently listed on the InkTip Shorts Listing section.
Some scripts I just want to write and not necessarily direct but their are others that I’d like to direct myself. Let’s see.
A big thanks to Cati Gonzalez for this interview. You can follow her on Twitter at @Cati_Photo
You can watch “Ekaj” on the following platforms: iTunes US YouTube Google Play US iTunes UK Google Play UK Amazon UK.
*Feature image of Cati Gonzalez courtesy of Mike Gonzalez.
