Shooting begins...

Doña Flora & Pablo leave mudbrick house to go into town.

Our first location, the mudbrick house, was by far the most intensive build for our art department, but completely transformative in its ability to bring both cast and crew into the world of our story's characters. Chaufa, Sylvia, and Sarah began with no more than the shell of an abandoned adobe structure; and within four days of reconstruction, major landscaping and set dressing, this once longtime chicken coop "magically" became a home.

Above: mudbrick house construction.
Below: Scene inside house featuring Umberto & Flora.

Sparsely, but accurately depicted, the house strikes a strong visual comparison between the lives and cultures of our film's two families.

Day 01:

Like many days soon to come, day one began around 5:15am, followed shortly after, by the arrival of our first two actors, three llamas, two donkeys, and a very excited Kucho.

Dan, aided by his crew of electricians and gaffers prepped the set...

Top to bottom, some of the guys.
Dan - DP; Russ - 2nd AC;
Jose & Enier - Key Grip & Grip

...while Sol, our make-up artist, went to work dressing and preparing the actors.

The morning went smoothly, accommodating to the needs of our actors and non-actors alike, and adjusting as our schedule contracted and swelled. After lunch, spirits were high, even despite a mid-afternoon hailstorm. It was clear that everyone was just happy to be on set!

Days 02-03:

The next two days progressed similarly, as we hammered out the majority of the scenes taking place at the mudbrick house location. Our acting coach, Mauricio, was on hand throughout the weekend, guiding our Peruvian Family through the more emotionally demanding scenes.

Above: Interior scenes, mudbrick house.

Below: Nighttime exterior scenes.

Day04:

We took our first break from the mudbrick house, and moved the company to our home-base on Carmen Alto. We began to gather at the production office around 2pm for a big lunch, before beginning our day across the street at the Grial Hostal.

There, we shot Mano and Carlito perfecting the art of the "Brichero." (An enormous thanks goes out to Jess, who made an excellent German tourist!) After wrapping at this location, we returned to the streets where we faked the front door of our mudbrick house, and then filmed one of the earliest scenes in the film -- where all four boys meet up in the street, outside Grial.

Above: Jano & Carlito show off to Pablo.
Below: Pablo & Alfredo run into Jano & Carlito in the streets.

The day ended at 12:06am, with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. Within what seemed like minutes, the gear was packed and the beer was poured...everyone was ready to blow off a little steam...seeing as the following day was a scheduled rest day!

Day 05:

Believe it or not, there was a bit of panic preceeding today...a big kudos goes to Maxi, Josh, and the entire production team! We finally received our permit to film in the city of Cusco...and not a minute too soon! Minus a good bit of crowd wrangling, the day went well.

In the midst of the wrangling, Josh (Director/Producer) and Chaufa (Art Director) were able to score interviews with number of people: a Cuscanian reporter, a pair of Uruguayan TV show hosts, and a gentleman who works with Blockbuster-Mexico!

All in all, a good day.

More on those encounters, to come!

Be sure to check out Sarah's great photos from the last week, and check back to find out how some of our American actors -- Megan Tusing and Ed Trucco (arriving Friday) are enjoying Cusco!

Take care, post soon!