Alumni give a "hand" to fellow filmmaker
Ohio University graduate completes his first feature-length film
with help from old friends

By Natalia Lavric

"You know that movie, 'The Guatemalan Handshake'? Well, I didn’t get it," a college-age girl sitting behind me at a screening said, tossing stray hair from her eyes in frustration and chomping on gum before another film began. "I mean, the ending didn’t make any sense, and I like an ending that gives me answers."

Mission accomplished for director Todd Rohal. The Ohio University graduate has managed to both entertain and baffle his viewers with his first feature-length film.

While other directors might worry about such a mixed reaction, Rohal embraces it.

"I guess a lot of us expect to have everything in our films answered and wrapped up," says Rohal, BFA '99. "Some don't just expect it, they demand it. I'm not sure if that's the best way to approach a film -- or anything in life, for that matter."

"The Guatemalan Handshake," as many people -- including Jack Abramoff and John Malkovich -- have noted, contains no secret gesture from a Central American country, nor does it give a tidy ending to its tale. It does, however, mean something special to Ohio University alumni.

The film brought together a group of friends and recent grads, including Sheila Scullin (BSC '99), Rich Schreiber, Kerry Hustwit and Napoleon Juaniza (all BFA '00), to work together, live together and film together for a month in Middletown, Pa., during the summer of 2004.

"It has been decades since alums came back and filmed together," says cinematographer Richie Sherman, MFA '99. Because of the film's tight budget and limited resources, crew and cast members were unpaid while working 14-hour days. "It was like camp," Rohal jokes.   

Set in what is presumably rural mid-America (the location is never revealed) the story focuses on the mysterious disappearance of a demolition derby driver during a power outage. After the initial confusion subsides, his family, friends and pregnant girlfriend must try to find him.

The film brought Rohal back to his alma mater April 29 for a special screening and discussion of the film during the Athens International Film and Video Festival.

Having completed four bizarre but well-received short films already, Rohal told an audience of crew members and fellow alumni that he had an idea of what to expect in filmmaking, but problems arose that he'd never had to deal with before –- most specifically, finding the money to bring the film from script to screen.

As a student, Rohal had been nominated for a Student Academy Award for "Single Spaced," a short film featuring a then-unknown Piper Perabo. Since graduation, he has worked as the director of photography for CourtTV programs and various independent films, an editor for the Discovery Channel and PBS, and has designed and produced DVDs.

None of this prepared him for the challenge of making a feature-length movie.

To complete his film, Rohal looked for financial support and advice from anywhere possible, including -- strangely enough -- Jack Abramoff, the infamous lobbyist who dabbled in movie production in the 1980s with "Red Scorpion," an anti-communist action film.
"For funding, rich people are the worst," Rohal says. "They like to waste your time and drag things out forever."

Abramoff, who did not understand the movie's title and suggested he promote it with buttons, didn't end up contributing. Instead, Rohal found financial solace in more familiar places: investments from his family and friends.

"Everyone I still keep in touch with contributed to the film in some way," he says. "Friends from second grade sent money in. My landlord helped out. Very few rich people could see the value in working and struggling for something like this."

Rohal spent two and a half years perfecting the film's script, originally compiled from short stories that he'd written.

"I missed a lot of fun things in life doing that, and I won't do that again," he says half-jokingly.

Making its way across the country at film festivals -- most notably, Slamdance in Park City, Utah, a festival known for its offbeat, alternative screening choices -- the movie has taken Rohal all over the nation to screen (and sometimes defend) his film. Employing unknown actors and weaving a strange, twisted story isn't for everyone. But it has found its niche: The film was awarded Special Jury recognition at Slamdance. 

"I know I've made a film that brings complete joy to some and outrage to others," he says. "I feel that's a tough thing to pull off, but the intention of the film is to be entertaining.

"The best reaction so far came from an audience member at Slamdance who walked out of the first screening, shook my hand and thanked me and bought a ticket for the next day's screening," he adds, grinning. "That was pretty cool."

Another notable moment: The strange-looking "Commutacar" featured in the movie caught the attention of several celebrities in Park City, including Malkovich, who took a great interest in the vehicle and the crew members who pushed it down the city streets.

Manufactured in the late 1970s and running on battery power to conserve energy, the vehicle was found in front of a Radio Shack in Mount Gilead, Ohio, and broke down several times throughout its journey to Park City, Utah.

"I still have it, if anyone wants to buy it," Rohal joked at the screening in Athens. "I’m going to put it on eBay so I can eat."

Though making the movie was a challenge, Rohal hasn't stopped looking toward his cinematic future. He's got ideas for the subject of his next feature-length movie, but work on his current film is hardly over, as he's looking for an outlet for DVD sales and a way to distribute the soundtrack, a compilation of some of his favorite indie music, to the film's enthusiasts.

Coming back to Athens for the annual film festival, Rohal said he was excited about revisiting the place where he spent his undergraduate years and seeing what it has to offer current students.

"I miss having the creative community within walking distance like we did in Athens," he says. "I used to be able to walk out my door, go down the street and run into someone working on something interesting, or stop into the film school and get sucked into a project of some sort.

"People tend to give up on things like that pretty fast after graduation, mostly because that community is gone once they move away from school," he adds. "It's important to find a way to continue working post-graduation.

"Otherwise, school is a waste of time and tuition would pay off better if put into some sort of retirement plan."