USA: Film "The Air I Breathe" with Kevin Bacon and Brendan Fraser, premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival

With the sixth annual Tribeca Film Festival in full swing, the queue of people outside one of the festival venues - the Tribeca Performing Arts Center - stretched long and wide on the evening of Sunday (April 29). The film enthusiasts were there for the screenings but also to catch a glimpse of some of the stars of "The Air I Breathe", an independent film, premiering at the festival. The film, based on a Chinese proverb, has four overlapping plots that dramatize the four emotional cornerstones of life -- happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love. Jieho Lee, co-writer of "The Air I Breathe" who is also making his directorial debut with the film, scored a casting coup, with an ensemble cast that includes Kevin Bacon, Andy Garcia, Brendan Fraser, Forest Whitaker and Sarah Michelle Gellar. While Oscar winner Whitaker was not able to attend the premiere, most of the other main leads walked the red carpet and spoke about what drew them to what they described as an unusual film. Fraser plays a gangster who can see the future, while symbolizing the feeling of pleasure. He said that one of the things that attracted him to the film was the vision and unusual storyline of Lee. The actor also spoke about what it felt like to have the film premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. "This is so exciting. I think each year it (the Tribeca Film Festival) seems to almost redouble in the energy that come here. It goes without saying that there's world class talent, and up and coming directors. It's one of those festivals, it just has a good feeling to it because it births a lot of talent," said Fraser. Bacon, whose role signified love in the film, plays a doctor who is in love with his best friend's wife (enacted by actress Julie Delpy) and must race against time to save her. "Well, I'd been doing really dark kind of characters and it was nice to play who is just very very warm-hearted, open-hearted and there's just this kind of simplicity to him that I really responded to," said Bacon of the opportunity to play "love" in the film. Garcia, who plays crime boss, "Fingers" in the film, explained his decision to be part of this independent film. "I have worked in a lot of independent films. They are very invigorating, you know. So, sometimes certain subject matters find their home in the independent world, and if you want to explore them, that's where you've got to go," said Garcia. Like Fraser, Garcia too complimented director Lee's unusual story and his ability to translate it on screen. Lee got the inspiration for his film during his years in Asia, where he met people similar to the characters in "The Air I Breathe." Lee explained that "the DNA" of the intriguing people he met in Asia swirled in his head for many months, and then when he met his mother for lunch about a year later, she in turn came up with a Chinese proverb in response to his description of the different characters. According to the proverb, there is a belief that humanity is linked through four key emotions - happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love. It was the link that Lee had been looking for to write his script. On the red carpet, Lee said that he was incredibly lucky to have been able to draw an ensemble star cast to present his tale of the four emotions, calling the team, "a real blessing." "It was a real blessing. It was a lot of hard work, as you probably know, an ensemble cast is a nightmare to get schedules lined up and locks. But really I think the work spoke for itself, the script spoke for itself and everybody who came on board was really passionate about it and brought their A game, and at the end of the day, it was a huge blessing for all of us," said Lee. Sarah Michelle Gellar, best known for her role in the series, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", plays sorrow in "The Air I Breathe", and said that the role was beautiful but also challenging as she did not have much experience of being sorrowful in real life. "The Air I Breathe", which was filmed mainly in Mexico City, will soon be released across the United States.

ITN Source | May 3, 2007

Tags:. .emotions. .emotional. .actress. .schedules. .oscar