Austinist Film Review and Interview: The Land of Shadowed Sand

(photo by Asa Potter)

In the interest of full disclosure, we would like to make it known that Wylie Maercklein, one of the actors interviewed in this piece, is one of Austinist's amazing staff photographers.

The Land of Shadowed Sand is quite the visual marvel. With less then 350K and a fair amount of filmmaking ingenuity, Austin-based Lettered Union Pictures have created a stunningly shot, intelligently constructed 1950s gangster flick – complete with hot jazz, sultry dames, and good ‘ol fashioned American machismo.

The story follows Frank Herne (played by Wylie Maercklein – interviewed after the jump), a young solider returning from the Korean War looking for work. As he seeks out an old friend (Louis – played by Austin Hice – also interviewed after the jump), Frank gets caught up in the violent world of an all-but-forgotten town in the Texas desert – hunted by gangsters and unwittingly entangled in a highly protected nationalist secret.

In Shadowed Sand the information is revealed piece by piece – with the viewer discovering the truth as it unfolds for the characters (think Syriana). While this approach left us a little disoriented and a trifle confused from time to time, the production manages to craft the story just right -- piquing the audience's interest while engrossing us more and more in Luis and Frank's downward spiral into chaos.

But it’s the look of this picture that truly sets it apart. From beginning to end, the film is superbly designed and shot by Austin Hice (Director), Scott McCauley (Director of Photography) and A. Clare Capper (Costume Designer). Believable, attractive, and sublimely cohesive, the visual narrative alone is worth the price of admission.

The Land of Shadowed Sand premieres tonight at 10pm at the Regal Arbor Theatre as part of the Austin Film Festival. Check out the teaser, but first, read an Austinist exclusive interview with Austin Hice (Director/Writer/Actor) and Wylie Maerckelin (Producer/Writer/Actor) after the jump.

*Accompanying photos by Wylie Maercklein and Asa Potter

Why gangsters? What's the attraction?

Austin Hice: We thought it would be interesting to take an entire cast of unsympathetic characters - Gangsters, criminals and ne'er-do-wells - And find out what makes them human.

It's both exciting and frightening to see that more often than not, these dangerous characters are not so different from you or me.

Wylie Maercklein: I'm a huge fan of the 40's and 50's noirs and couldn't really pass up the chance to write some hardboiled gangster dialogue. The appeal for that is immediately obvious, at least for me: Smart, sharp, and snappy.

The look of the film is fantastic -- how did you achieve it? What locations did you shoot?

AH: We shot the movie in 13 days in the middle of the summer in Texas - Austin, Marble Falls and the deserts of Big Bend, to be exact. We knew that with no money and no time, our best chance for successfully creating a period piece (circa 1953) was to charge into the isolation of the desert and shoot continuously through any hardships. We stuck it out and we were able to capture the stunning backdrops and visuals that you can only find in the deserts of Texas.

WM: I'd think you'd be more interested about how we secured the period plane. The answer: very carefully.

Wylie: so rumor has it you put yourself through hell performing in the film. What sucked worst?

WM: Well, what happened here was that we wrote in a lot of horrible things to happen to the character of Frank Herne. We also didn't have the budget to fake many of those things, so we decided to just do them. Somewhere along the line, it was realized that there was no way a real actor would ever take the part, so I was volunteered into service.

I actually tried to get myself recast a few times, to no avail. I'm more of a stunt man sans the training, really. My performance is like Jackass, just without the fun.

I don't remember much of the concussion, so that couldn't have been so bad. I guess the torture scene with my eyes held open by aluminum hooks was pretty scarring. I don't recommend it. Let's move on; I can already hear people clicking the Back button on their
browsers.

Why do you make your movies here?

WM: I live in Austin. If I lived in Topeka, I'd probably be doing an interview with the Topekaist right now about why I chose to make a movie about a tornado and a big field.

But Austin is great as a movie center in a couple ways: first, it's quite cost effective to shoot here; and second, it has lots of people who genuinely want to make great films. There are few cities which can boast a selection of cast and crew willing to work as hard and enthusiastically as Austin can.

AH: Austin is a town that's hungry for movies. There's an honest passion to work and create that you don't find in most places.

The film premieres this week at the Austin Film Festival -- have you guys been involved in the festival before? What kind of exposure are you hoping to gain? Where do you hope to go from here?

AH: Not only is this our first time screening at the Austin Film Festival, but it's the first screening of The Land of Shadowed Sand ever. We feel it's an important story to tell and just want to get the movie to a place where it can be seen by as many people as possible.

The Land of Shadowed Sand
Friday, October 20th
Regal Arbor Cinema [map]
10pm
[Info.]

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