Park starring in local short film
BY BARBARA WOOLSEY, LEADER-POST JULY 2, 2010

Local director Mauricio Carvajal is setting out to tell a tale of tragedy.

The First Days, also written by Carvajal, is currently in production at the Soundstage.

The short film -- running about six minutes long -- is from the perspective of an immigrant who arrives in an unnamed host nation with only his cat and a suitcase full of dreams.

"Immigrants do certain jobs that nobody wants to do, but everybody expects that they are there," explained Carvajal.

"We need to validate the fact that immigration is important and recognize multiculturalism."

The First Days uses green-screen technology to place live actors inside an animated 3D world. This hybrid experience helps to "send the message in a magical way," Carvajal said.

Characters speak in a fictitious dialect in order to show how lonely it is to be unable to communicate.

"You'll notice when you watch the short there's no real language being used; it's all in gibberish," said Grace Park, who plays the role of a recent immigrant in the film. "It's a metaphor for what it might sound like for an immigrant coming to a new place."

Park is best known for her work as Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii in the TV series, Battlestar Galactica. She became involved in the project through producer Steven Huszar and feels a direct connection to the material.

"My parents came to the States in their late 20s," she said. "I remember hearing some of their stories of how hard it was when they had to work under the table. My dad went to the top university in Korea and he's also a pro athlete, but you wouldn't know that with some of the jobs he was doing."

Next week, Park will move to Hawaii to begin shooting the remake of the television series Hawaii Five-O for CBS.

"It's always nice to do Canadian projects as well as the American ones," said the American-born Canadian actress. "I think it's really important to keep doing things back home. I find the crews are a little bit different and there's a different sense with the projects here."

The script for The First Days from Carvajal's personal experience. The Bogota, Colombia, native moved to Regina when he was 17, unable speaking a word of English. He is now a landed immigrant, working full-time at Viterra and pursuing a master's degree (fine arts) at the University of Regina with a specialization in immigration in film.

Carvajal hopes to pursue a long-term career in the Saskatchewan film industry.

"We do need more support from the government," said Carvajal. "We have the facilities, we have the crews, we have the capabilities to create really great pictures here. And you know, the more support we get the better people we'll get, the better training we'll get and this province will flourish."