There are so many ways to tell a story…
And so much a marriage symbolizes. So many questions it tends to raise: What is love? What is faith? It was our hope to explore these themes in a far more dramatically engaging way than we felt possible in a traditional documentary… Perhaps there is more within this story then meets the eye.
In the fall of 2009, Melissa & Samir embarked on an incredible journey to Udaipur, India, to fulfill a lifelong dream of having their wedding in the country of their ancestry. This transcendent place, affectionately called the “CITY OF LAKES,” located in the breathtaking region of Rajasthan, would be the setting for their extravagant, three-day marriage celebration, and the backdrop of our unprecedented film production - shot entirely on-location. We believe this to be the first ever live event/scripted concept production ‘hybrid’ film produced on this scale.
We hope you enjoy the trailer for “CITY OF LAKES” and look forward to sharing the film with you soon.
In the fall of 2009, Pacific Pictures embarked on a journey to Udaipur, India, to document the three-day wedding of Melissa & Samir in a rather unprecedented way. Unlike a traditional documentary, their real, live wedding would be integrated into a fully scripted, produced concept movie, with the hope of telling the story of their wedding with a heightened emotional authenticity and dramatic scale. “City of Lakes,” as Udaipur is often called, commemorates Melissa & Samir’s journey to the transcendent place of their ancestry and the joining of two families in light of their past and the promise of their future. This would be our biggest production to date and we’re excited to share more behind the scenes images to come… Stay tuned tomorrow, as we proudly debut the full length trailer.
Let It “Snow” | Can a love story be told as a thriller? That was the dramatic challenge with Megan & Narbeh’s concept, “Snow.” When I first heard the story of Megan & Narbeh’s true romance, I knew we had the basis for an international suspense film on our hands. Narbeh was a member of the Swedish Air Force, and he used to sneak off the base at night just to spend time with Megan. But how could a suspense film celebrate the couples’ hometown of Uppsala, Sweden, and at the same time spotlight the moments that made this couples’ journey to marriage unforgettable?
Megan and Narbeh would make Los Angeles their new home before the summer of 2009. So, pressed for time, I made the journey to Sweden with my second shooter, Ben, (who plays the other Swedish soldier in the movie) in March in the dead of winter; weather was sure to be a character in this one. I’m proud of what we pulled off on a European production with no crew, shooting non-actors in the dead of winter. But the thing I’m most proud of when I watch “Snow” are Megan & Narbeh’s performances. They were pretty nervous, and close to cancelling weeks before we arrived. By the end, they were sad our shoot was over. Casting Swedish star Andreas Wilson was another huge thrill. I’ve never worked with as brilliant an actor who could nail every nuance in the first take.
The Los Angeles premiere on 8.22.09 was electric. Megan & Narbeh had no idea we commissioned an aerial shoot. Narbeh had been begging me for a teaser for months but I held my ground to maintain the surprise. The look of shock and awe on their faces, as seen in the clip below, was well worth it. I look forward to sharing the rest of their wedding highlights soon. We’ve been holding this film back for five months, so it gives me great pleasure to present Megan & Narbeh’s Sweden Thriller “Snow.” Enjoy!
-Kevin
