BY JOE ARCE AND COREY CRABLE
A local filmmaker is hoping to bring an international Hispanic flair to a local film.
Santiago Vasquez is the co-writer, co-producer, and lead actor in the new film “Ruta Fuera de las Fronteras” (“Out of the Plains”). According to a synopsis, the film, “The shooting of an immigrant on a small town highway in Kansas reverberates through the lives left in the wake. Both sides of the law must be walked in this modern-day western.” Vasquez and the film’s director, the late Eric Atwood, shot nearly the entire film in Spanish, a powerful acknowledgment of the growing number of Hispanic and immigrant moviegoers interested in stories told from their perspective and in their native language.
Now, Vasquez’s film will be screened in April for local audiences as it makes the rounds for film festivals.
As a native Venezuelan and a retired police officer with the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, Vasquez says he was able to accurately tell the story from both sides of the action, both immigrant and law enforcement officer.
“After I became a citizen of the United States, I spent 27 years of my life as a police officer with a Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, and my goal was always to do my very best to assist the migrant, the Hispanic, or even the Spanish-speaking community that we have in Kansas City,”
Vasquez explains. “And so we saw the struggle that our community had to get legalized, properly legalized, being in the United States. … I saw that struggle. And so what we decided to do was to use these ideas that I had with my experience as an immigrant, as a now-retired police officer, and to use his ideas, too, because Eric is an extremely creative man.”
The story of the movie going from concept to execution actually begins several years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Vasquez recalls that to bring his and Atwood’s vision to life, the two held an open casting call for native Spanish-speakers throughout the metro area.
To their surprise, more than 700 people showed up.
“From there, we chose the people that were part of the movie and, basically the film is about 99 percent in Spanish. It’s totally subtitled for the film festivals. The only people who speak English are actually the law enforcement officers,” Vasquez says.
This was a deliberate decision, he explains, in order to show not only the growing number of immigrants in the U.S., but also the power they wield in every facet of society.
“We are an economic power that we are ignored in so many ways,” he says. “We are making, we are moving forward every day.”
The two filmmakers compensated their cast however they could. True, they couldn’t afford to pay the cast and crew, but they made sure everyone on set was well fed and their needs attended to at every turn. Principal photography moved along well, and everything was proceeding as it should … until not one, but two tragedies struck.
“Eric unfortunately passed away two years ago. He went out for a walk, he was only 41 years old. He wasn’t feeling well. And he suffered a massive heart attack and died,” Vasquez says, his voice cracking with emotion. “And the lead actress, Ivon Martinez, originally from Mexico. … I don’t know exactly what happened to her, but I know that she got very sick and she died.”
Following the deaths of two individuals who were key to the film, Vasquez and his crew were afraid the film was gone forever, brought to a tragic end by unimaginable loss. Thankfully, however, good fortune intervened.
“We couldn’t get into Eric’s computer,” Vasquez recalls. “But one of our friends who helped produce the film was able to get into the computer and found a complete film. And bingo, we send the film to the film festivals.”
And the film festivals responded, welcoming the film into one lineup after another. Most recently, it was screened at the First City Film Festival in Leavenworth, Kansas, where it was nominated for five awards, including Best Feature Film and Best Local Actor (for Vasquez), and Best Local Screenplay.
For Vasquez, who won Best Actor at the Kansas City International Film Festival for the film “Kick Me,” and whose work has been shown at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, his local accolades are the sweetest rewards of all.
“This means so much to me because I live in Kansas City,” he says.
“Ruta Fuera de las Fronteras” is dedicated to the memory of Atwood, Martinez, and supporting actors Esther Solis, Armando Cruz and Francisco Ervis.
Vasquez says he hopes that anyone who watches the film will come away with a greater appreciation for Hispanics in the arts.
“We want them to understand that we have to reach out to the Hispanic community, that we can cast Hispanics in leading roles and these leading roles don’t have to be stereotypical,” he explains. “We don’t have to play the guy in the kitchen that is cooking. We don’t have to play the guy that is mopping the floor. … We are more than that. We are more than just the bandidos, the bandoleros that appear in the movies, we have to transcend those negative stereotypes that continue to play our lives or perpetuate it by the movies. We have to show that Hispanics can be the leading actor.”
As part of the Kansas City International Film Festival, “Ruta Fuera de las Fronteras” will play at 7:30 p.m. April 11 at AMC Ward Parkway 14 Theaters. For more information, visit https://kcfilmfest.org/.
