In an exclusive interview with Indiewrap, director Mohit Ramchandani opens up on his latest film, City of Dreams. As the movie prepares for its nationwide release august 30th Ramchandani discusses the personal and real-world inspirations behind the gripping tale of resilience against child trafficking. With a powerful cast including, Jason Patric, Diego Calva and Ari Lopez, Ramchandani shares insights into the film’s creation, the challenges faced, and his hopes for its impact on audiences and beyond.
City of Dreams is inspired by real events. Can you share more about the real-life experiences and stories that influenced the film’s narrative?
It is inspired by many different cases I read about modern day slavery in America. Everything from the 1995 El Monte Sweatshop Case where 72 immigrants were trapped in a residential complex making fast fashion to the NY Times expose that Hannah Dreier did last year on the exploitation of 300,000 migrant children in the supply chains of large corporations.
The film features an impressive cast including, Diego Calva, Jason Patric and newcomer Ari Lopez. Can you elaborate on the casting process and how you identified the right actors to convey the film’s emotional depth?
Honestly, I auditioned everyone except Jason Patric. I knew his work but with the others we went through a year-long casting process with multiple rounds. In the case of Diego Calva, this was his first English language feature film and he was an unknown actor at the time. He actually booked Babylon while we were editing our film.
With notable executive producers like Tony Robbins and Michael Phillips, how did their involvement shape the film’s development and production? What unique contributions did they bring to the project?
All of the notable Executive Producers we have joined after the film was completed. Given I was a first-time director and there were no stars in the film, people needed to see the film before they agreed to put their name on it and each one brought a valuable contribution to the film. Michael convinced me to change the title from “Bonded” to “City of Dreams”, Tony has helped us secure many other ambassadors to promote the film as well as a screening at Congress on Sept 9th that he is hosting, Linda Perry was so moved by the film she wrote our end title song and Luis Fonsi agreed to sing it and do a music video with me to promote the film.
Where was the film shot, what locations?
The film was shot in Los Angeles and Mexico. Mexico City, Puebla and Morelos were the shooting locations in Mexcio.
What were some of the most significant challenges you faced during the production and how did you overcome them?
There have been incredible challenges throughout the production, post production and even in getting the film distributed and marketed. I could summarize by saying that when you’re trying to execute a grand vision with a tiny budget it forces you and your team to meet your edge and most people don’t want that, they want comfort, so the lack of resources becomes the root of all problems. As an example, a normal independent film budgeted at US$4m will shoot for approximately 24 days and never more than 30 days on average. We shot for 70 days and all the money went up on screen. This was possible because I deferred my writing, directing and producing fees as did all the other producers and the actors worked for scale. But it was still incredibly difficult. Another challenge is that when you are not an established director, no matter how much water you can turn into wine, you will doubted every step of the way by everyone. In my case I was lucky that my actors and my editor Matt were behind my vision every step of the way and their belief in me never wavered.
What are you hoping audiences take away from City of Dreams, particularly in relation to its message about child trafficking and resilience?
I hope the movie penetrates through people’s intellect and gives them the emotional experience of what a child goes through when trafficked and sold into slavery. That was always my intention, to make something so raw and real that you can’t just walk away from it and do nothing. You are compelled to take whatever action is required to free these innocent children.
Future Projects: After City of Dreams, what is your next project?
My next project is called “Asphyxia”, it’s being produced by Hunt Lowry who produced Last of the Mohicans, A Time to Kill and Donnie Darko. We just made a deal with Capstone Studios, the company behind Sam Raimi produced “Don’t Move”, John Woo’s “Silent Night” starring Joel Kinnaman and the FALL series. Totally different film and totally different genre but it still has a very powerful message.
The story follows Dr. Joanna Miller, a marine biologist specializing in migratory and birthing patterns in whales, whose ship capsizes in a storm during a routine expedition, killing her entire crew. She’s left stranded in an air pocket inside the mess hall, trying to signal the patrolling coast guard rovers, when she comes across an unexpected survivor, the Captain’s daughter. As she navigates her way to the young girl, every breath of air eats away at what little oxygen is left, blurring the lines between reality and delusion, and forcing her to confront a loss from the past.
Trailer:
Spanish Trailer: https://youtu.be/r4LwaVt3IoU?si=quFoFWnWSYOjnrnY
About Mohit Ramchandani
Born in Mumbai, India and raised in Hong Kong and then Los Angeles, Ramchandani initially worked as a film producer on projects that starred Paul Rudd, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Dornan, Luke Wilson and Tim Roth, among others. He also directed the short film “Devil’s Creek” which premiered at the Cannes Short Film corner. He most recently directed “City of Dreams” is inspired by true events and chronicles the journey of a young Mexican boy whose dreams of becoming a soccer star are shattered when he’s trafficked across the border and sold to a sweatshop in downtown Los Angeles. The film is being screened for Congress on September 9, co-sponsored by a Democrat and a Republican in a bi-partisan effort to raise awareness for the exploitation of migrant children. Ramchandani is repped by Abram Nalibotsky and Jay Cohen at the Gersh Agency.
