Local filmmaker wants local premiere

FREMONT -- Five minutes, one Beethoven piece, zero words.

It doesn't take much for Mitchum Nathaniel Greenberg-Ray to make a statement, but whether his message will be heard by many is another question.

The Fremont resident is looking for a venue to premiere his first film -- a five-minute feature shot in Fremont with local cast members.

The recently completed film follows a young man who is stabbed while trying to save his co-worker from an attacker one evening. As he lies in his own pool of blood, the woman he saved -- whom he's only been allowed to admire from afar -- leaves him to die alone in the parking lot.

The plot is an allegory for Jesus Christ.

"It's an ode to Christ -- the idea of someone dying for someone that hates them. I always thought, 'What kind of love is that?'" Greenberg-Ray said.

Because of the hidden message, Greenberg-Ray chose to title the movie "Eyes Don't Know."

"What you're seeing isn't always what you get," said the 28-year- old filmmaker, who doesn't own a car and walks everywhere, carrying his digital camera and a book in a Trader Joe's tote bag at alltimes.

Raised in Fremont, Greenberg-Ray made it a point to keep the project local.

It was shot in one evening at Trader Joe's at The Hub and stars employees of the grocery store, who work with Greenberg-Ray in real life. The main actor graduated from Mission San Jose High School, and the leading actress is an Ohlone College student.

The low-budget black-and-white film is void of dialogue and, instead, is set to Ludwig van Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."

"It's not very long, but the message (of unrequited love) is very clear," Greenberg-Ray said.

He said he opted for no dialogue because he did not want the universal theme of his message to be limited to one language. "I wanted to make something that could be viewed by anybody in the world. I don't want anything to hinder the message," he said.

While keeping an eye out for a local venue where movie buffs could view the film for free, Greenberg-Ray also has plans to submit "Eyes Don't Know" to organizers of film festivals, including one in Berkeley.

He has started work on a second film in the meantime. The new project, which will be longer than the first movie and include dialogue, once again will be shot in Fremont and will feature Monday Morris, the main actor in "Eyes Don't Know."

Morris, who has done commercial acting in Los Angeles, touted Greenberg-Ray's self-taught directing skills.

"He lets the actors have their freedom. When you ask him questions, he's kind of vague. I think he does that on purpose. He lets you come up with your own interpretation," Morris said. "Mitchum is kind of a complex guy. His thought process is pretty deep."

According to Morris, his friend is considering applying to New York University's film school.

With director Steven Spielberg and actor-director Charlie Chaplin as his inspirations, Greenberg-Ray said he is committed to honest filmmaking.

"What you've read, what you've lived comes together in films," he said. "I want my message to be real. I want it to be beautiful. ... If I don't make a movie, I'll shrivel up and die."

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