There are so many ways to tell a story…
And so much a wedding 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 ever produced on this scale. It was shot entirely on DSLRs, the Canon 5D Mark2 and 7D. We hope you enjoy the trailer for “CITY OF LAKES” and look forward to sharing the film with you soon.
Pacific Pictures presents “CITY OF LAKES”
Starring Melissa Kumar, Samir Shah, Anubhab Saha, Sharon Chawda & Rushad Rana
Written & Directed by Kevin Shahinian
Produced by Kevin Shahinian & Patrick Moreau
Line Producer Pravin Thakur
Director of Photography Patrick Moreau
2nd Unit Director Joe Simon
2nd Unit Steadicam Casey Warren
Film Editor Kevin Shahinian
Jib Operator Chris Geiger
Set Photographer Amish Solanki
With special thanks to Canon & Tiffen/Steadicam, Dennis Wood and the entire Cinevate team for their support.
Relevant links:
“City of Lakes” teasers contest at Cinevate.com
“City of Lakes” feature on Lensflare 35 with Dave Warner
“City of Lakes” article on EOS HD
I just don’t believe it. There is nothing, absolutely nothing to separate this from a hollywood movie. I’ve watched it twice already and am excited to see the final thing.
Kevin, I honestly believe that there is a hollywood deal to be had from this. Movies based on real events have that added impact. Movies FROM a real event is a whole new level.
Absolutely beautiful. You guys did a great job building anticipation for this, and it paid off. Now I wish I was on your list to receive a copy of the finished product! Kevin you need to create a Full length feature, I hope the screenplays start pouring in! Congrats to you and your crew!
Beautiful work, Kevin! Congratulations to you and your team.
Briliant! The concept and execution really show off your talents. I have to agree with Danny who says “I honestly believe that there is a hollywood deal to be had from this. Movies based on real events have that added impact. Movies FROM a real event is a whole new level.” I hope this piece brings you the global attention that you deserve!
Man, you made me cry…
This is pure genius, amazing story telling, filming and post production, Im just floored!
Simply put: This is PURE GENIUS!
Just what we all needed Kevin!
Thank you for sharing and thank you for inspiring!
So beautiful and unreal that it’s overwhelming. But love is beautiful and the trailer is just right.
Amazing work!
This is amazing! Great job guys!!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — you are a god among men. Truly amazing and inspiring work. Can’t wait to see the final production.
Every single shot is a work of art!
What an extraordinary idea! This film looks amazing…I can’t even begin to imagine all of the hard work that went into this, I am sure it will pay off more than you could have ever hoped for. Can’t wait to see more. Beautiful work!
I am born anew in your genius. Insane work. Truly inspiring.
I find your work so remarkable. I am just looking froward to your next epic.
Brilliant! DSLR?
Simply beautiful! I can’t wait to see the final product. You are the pioneer on what can be accomplished in todays wedding scene.
B R A V O….!!!
Kevin,
Thank you so much for loving this industry.
WOW! I am in awe!
As a Still photographer I never appreciated the moving image in weddings until I saw this!
What a beautiful work of art! I was just in Udiapur, City of Lakes in January.
What a magical place! You captured it so well! Look forward to seeing the full feature!
OMG, Kevin. This is astonishing! I know how hard you worked on this and the final product is just breathtaking. I’ve never seen someone work harder on anything in this industry. You killed yourself, and the effort shows. The trailer is fabulous and I am so excited to see the finished film. You’re a true artist, and I can’t wait until I see you accepting an Oscar someday. Big hugs, and . . . just wow. Amazing!!! Dina
Kevin, Patrick, and Casey you guys have proven we don\’t need Hollywood anymore! Thank you guys so much for breaking through! I hope to see you working together again soon!!! Awesome job!
Kevin, Patrick and Casey great job…. love watching every second of this trailer…. so when is your Bollywood movie coming out?
Ahmed
WOW!! This stunning, I had mine for a year, and have never tried it….maybe I should ..
Awesome, Awesome, Awesome. Just remember us little guys when your rich and famous.
Inspirational. Captivating. Brilliant. Your work is an inspiration us all! I hope to be able to see this magical film in its entirety…and aspire to travel there one day! You have my admiration.
Wendy
Kevin!
The team did an absolutely phenomenal job and we are really looking forward to all your future projects to come to life! Just wanted to congratulate you on this amazing production, you continue to inspire us all one day at a time
Wow, that is some amazing camera work. Quality is just outstanding. I would love to see behind the scenes, just how did you do it.
I am totally blown away. Words really cannot express the feeling I got watching this trailer. So much to learn from all of you, thank you.
Kevin and crew, this piece is just simply brilliant! The story, emotion, beauty… everything is just brilliant! Way to go!
amazing!!!!!! whats the name of the song?
Hey Kevin, you had some beautiful scenes in there. Personally I think you’re wasting your talent doing wedding videography, you need to be making feature films my friend.
All the best mate
Evro
Moudanier Pictures
Sydney | Australia
Congratulations. You have invented a brand new medium in media. In three decades of ‘watching’ I have never seen anything like this. Hats off. You should be very, very proud. Awesome work.
Truly captivating and inspiring. As mentioned previously, it can indeed be stamped HQ (Hollywood quality) standard.
Absolutely breathtaking! Congratulations on taking videography to the next level. I wish you the greatest success in the future.. skies the limit with your breadth of talent!
Holy Cow! That was the most amazing thing I have ever seen! Gosh Kevin! That was Friggen amazing, and so me to say a cus word it must be amazing! WOW!! I totally agree with Evro! Dude, This thing should have been nominated at the Grammy’s, or Oscars or what ever that just was!
You rock!!
Brian
absolutely amazing…
I cannot add anything that hasn’t already been said. This is just incredible on every level. The beautiful background music specifically 1:09 through 2:30, is it available anywhere?
Awesome work. The framing, the music and most of all. the content is unbelievable! Yeah I think you should be in movie making man!!
Sean
Firewerkz Films Singapore
The trailer is beautiful, simply stunning, I can’t wait to see the film and the making of as well because it sounds like a very interesting process. The use of steadicam and camera cranes also brings such a high production values as well. So congratulations. Can you reply to one question now for us though. Was this shot on a Canon 5d mark 2 or a traditional video camera? Again many thanks it’s very beautiful.
Wow stunning video!
Even more beautiful on film that I remember it in person. Looks Epic! Can’t wait to see it & good luck in Vegas this week!
Shocking. This film has the added value of visual seduction from their culture.
Nice!!!