August 5, 2005

FIELDS OF MUDAN is a story about Mudan, a young Asian girl forced into the despicable and amoral world of modern day slavery by a brutal child brothel owner, Madam Zhao. As the film began to take shape, however, a question emerged - how would a crew of American film students be able to recreate an Asian underworld thousands of miles
from Tallahassee, Florida – and make it believable?

The quest began in December 2003 – and it started in a very different way. Producer Courtney T. Powell and director Stevo pitched a short film entitled JET PLANE, about a young Mexican boy who attempts to escape from his drug-lord overseers, with the hope of one day arriving to America and ultimately finding his freedom. The faculty of the Florida
State University Film School found great potential in developing the short narrative and selected it as one of the five thesis films to be produced in the spring of 2004.

Shortly thereafter, Powell and Stevo got to work building a crew. They had a letter of intent from Marty Lang, an accomplished producer in their class, as Co-Producer, and later brought on Sun-Kyu Park as Director of Photography and D.R. Ceballos as both editor and sound designer. Once production designer Mike Wagner was on board, an experienced and competent above-the-line crew was established.

But as the writing process began, however, Stevo saw a different direction from the initial pitch. He had always contemplated changing the context of the story to be about Asian girls forced into child sex slavery, but felt the subject matter far too dark and deprecating for his tastes. But when playing with his five year old niece on Christmas Day, Stevo realized that children as young as his niece were being sexually exploited without most people knowing about it. It wasn't long before the personal attachment he found through his niece would alter the initial pitch of JET PLANE, about young Mexican boys, into FIELDS OF MUDAN, a story of a young Asian girl forced into child sex slavery.

And with this change of context came an unexpected ally. Terry Coonan, the Executive Director of the Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, who caught wind of the project and offered his unwavering support. He invited the crew to his office and showed them examples of modern day human trafficking and sexual slavery, as well as reviewing the script for accuracy. Through his enthusiasm for the project, Connan also agreed to financially support the film, eventually paying for the English subtitles found in the finished print. With the momentum of a strong script, and the support of a world-renowned expert on human trafficking, FIELDS OF MUDAN was well on its way to being made.

But while producers searched for locations and the art department constructed sets, a vital question remained: who would act in the movie? There were many talented Asian actors across the country who could tackle the roles in the film, but the challenge for the crew was to find them. So they did.

FIELDS OF MUDAN embarked on what could easily be called the most extensive casting search in Florida State Film School history. The school sponsored casting calls in Tallahassee, Orlando, Miami, Tampa, Atlanta and New York City, but those trips bore little fruit. So the crew took casting to the next step – not only did they sponsor a second trip to Atlanta and New York City, they hit major cities consisting of large Asian communities, like Los Angeles and Washington, DC. Coordinators were hired in each city to blanket the landscape for talented Asian actors.

And eventually, talented actors were found. For key supporting roles, Yaping was cast from LA as the vicious Madam Zhao, and Lawrence Sykkmon, from Atlanta, was cast as the man who attacks Mudan. Nikki SooHoo, also from Los Angeles, was cast as Lin, the jaded, older girl in the brothel. But the lead roles were not finalized until close to shooting – and they were both filled by hometown girls. Nicole Nishimoto and Shannon Lu, both Tallahassee natives, were cast as Mudan and Faye, rounding out the almost completely Asian cast.

Principal photography started in mid-March 2004 and continued until the end of the month. The ten-day shoot took place on the FSU Film School sound stages, a dilapidated Tallahassee house, and a field in Jackson County, Florida, an hour’s drive from FSU. A month later, a second unit crew was sent to Los Angeles to shoot scenes in and around Koreatown, a borough of Los Angeles.

Once back from LA, the next two months were spent in the editing room. Stevo and D.R. Ceballos worked meticulously over the cut, making sure the film worked to tell the tender story of Mudan, and to make a lasting impact upon its viewers. That impact was felt on August 7, 2004, when the film made its world premiere as part of graduation ceremonies for the FSU Film School in Tallahassee, FL. All those involved with the film are proud of the work they have created, and the effect it will have on filmgoers once they see it.