The journey to get the Houston-made, Laredo-set film “Journey” in front of viewers is not quite as harrowing as its plot – a young undocumented man raised in the U.S. struggles to return to his family in Texas after being picked up by authorities and sent back to Mexico – but it had its share of twists and turns.
Director Cristopher Rodriguez, co-writer/cinematographer Orlando Briones and his brother/co-writer Christian, who are all from Houston, conceived “Journey” a decade ago. There were shoots in Houston, Laredo and Monterrey, Mexico, but then along came the pandemic which nixed a planned Mexican theatrical release. Later, a VOD deal fell through, leaving the movie, which Rodriguez says was made for “under $500,000,” in limbo for a couple of years. In fact, IMDB.com (the Internet Movie Database) still lists it as a 2023 movie, something Rodriguez is trying to get updated.
‘Journey’
When: Opens Oct. 2
Where: In theaters
Details: journeythemovie.com
Finally, upstart Centurion Film Service, who helped with distribution of the massive indie hit “Iron Lung” earlier this year, got involved, securing an Oct. 2 release date.
Rodriguez, 40, whose current day job is as a producer and cinematographer for the Discovery Channel series “Contraband,” is relieved it’s finally coming out.
“You know, this is a film that is all Houston, from the writers to the camera operators to everyone, except the actors,” he says in a phone interview. “I think it’s something that Houston can be proud of.”
(From left) “Journey” director Cristopher Rodriguez, co-writer/cinematographer/executive producer Orlando Briones and assistant director Alejandro Secosse. (Cristopher Rodriguez)
In “Journey,” Rafael Cebrián (“Motor City,” the TV series “Acapulco”) plays Roberto, a young man who was brought to Texas as a child from Mexico but never became documented. Not long after finding out that his girlfriend, Samantha (Meaghan Martin from the TV series “Awkward” and “10 Things I Hate About You”) is pregnant, he’s nabbed by police and deported.
“It was all inspired by true events that have happened to people that we know, family members or friends of family, because this has been an ongoing thing since we were little,” Rodriguez says. “In the ’90s, there was INS and then it turned into ICE. When we wrote the story, it was before Trump’s first term. As we went along and things progressed and shot it, things just got more and more aggressive as far as that topic…It’s very timely right now. So we thought this was a great year to put it out and Centurion, the company that’s helping us broker deals with the theaters, that’s why they loved it.”
The script also appealed to some notable Mexican actors who joined the cast, including Mario Zaragoza (“Man on Fire,” “Without Blood”), Arcelia Ramirez (“Instructions Not Included”) and Gustavo Sanchez Parra (“Amores Perros,” “Sound of Freedom”).
“They were interested mainly because they don’t get to do a lot of English movies,” says Rodriguez. “They took on the opportunity and they did an amazing job.”
While “Journey” is set all along the Texas-Mexico border, Houstonians will note some familiar locations masquerading as the border town. “If you’re from Houston, you’ll recognize 19th Street. We were faking it as downtown Laredo,” he says with a laugh.
Rodriguez is well acquainted with Houston neighborhoods, having grown up in Magnolia Park, on Houston’s east side, and gone to Cesar Chavez High School and then San Jacinto College. He started off as a still photographer, attended the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and worked behind the camera working for various news outlets including Fox 26 and ABC 13. He and Orlando Briones, a Univeristy of Houston alum, launched OC Films in 2015 while the Briones Brothers’ Filmatic is releasing “Journey” in conjunction with OC Films.
He wants to continue making features, though he doesn’t want to be pegged as someone who just tells stories about immigration.
“I’m working on a heist film at the moment,” he says. “A friend of mine is writing a thriller that I want to do…I want to do a rom-com. I want to be able to spread my wings.”
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This article originally published at How three Houston friends took ten years to make the film ‘Journey,’ opening Oct. 2.