by K. Marie Black

Lights. The explosion of independent films and film makers boggles the mind. These days it seems like everyone (and their brother) is picking up a hand-held or steadycam, drinking copious cups of coffee, and stopping people in the street: "Hey, babe, you wanna be in my mooovie?"

Camera. But thanks to these folks, including the almighty forefathers of independent film, Rick Linklater and Robert Rodriguez, gone are the days of runaway budgets and overblown star systems once thought necessary to make a film.

Action. The passion of these filmmakers, as well as some up-and-coming new kids has smacked Hollywood right at the heart of its complacency.

Ker-blam. Change is a good thing.

One of these new kids is Steve Bilich. Like his more celebrated contemporaries, film is his passion, or rather, letting film be the avenue by which he tells a story is his passion. His background is familiar enough: a Radio/Television/Film degree from the UT-nobody-really-knows-if-it's-a-film-school Film School; the prodigal trip to New York to fulfill the inevitable urge to act; 10 years, in fact, of acting in New York and sundry places; and finally, the return home to fulfill his need for an open shot at making a difference. That shot was recently realized, in the form of 103 minutes of celluloid called Ruta Wakening. Bilich served as writer, producer, and director.

Ruta Wakening proves to be quite a maiden voyage. A montage of sorts, it chronicles six mostly turbulent relationships with Austin's way-cool 4th and Lavaca Street area as its backdrop. The dialogue shows Bilich's acumen for reality; the plot line shows his fancifulness. For neophyte screenwriters out there wondering how Bilich generated the ideas for the screenplay, they arose from the long hours Bilich spent ruminating (at Ruta Maya Coffeehouse, no less) on what he calls "the complexities of love." For the romantics out there thinking Bilich is a dream guy, one who normally spends his waking hours pondering love, well, not quite. Unfortunately, Bilich's soul searching was spawned by a painful breakup that left him with a desire for insight into the often painful dynamics of the "L" word.

The film for Bilich was a catharsis, a mechanism for healing and closure that he was not able to get from his break-up. Art IS Life, indeed.

Artistic stuff aside, just how did Bilich go about getting this film made? Simple. He wrote a solid screenplay and then exercised his decidedly American right to go into major debt. He paid for the film (120 rolls of Kodak) and his production staff by maxxing out his American Express card to the tune of $25,000. His caterer? The Food Mart at Exxon, another establishment whose card he used, um, rather heavily. Has it been frightening to go past the brink of financial ruin? Bilich takes it in stride, "It's the best time I've ever had going broke. Before I made this film, all I had was my integrity; now all I have is my integrity and a film."

His film is not all that he's got, though. Bilich has also cultivated and honed philosophy of film-making. Owing to his heavy theater background, the director says he wants to create an environment where his actors can "play" on film. He does not believe in dictating to his actors to get what he wants from them, rather, he directs them into exploring where he wants them to go on film and in the story. His abiding concern is for telling a good story and creating an environment for the actors that is "an ensemble system, not a star system." Perhaps it's his own acting background talking when he says, "I'm interested in nurturing my actors, in helping them reach their highest potential."

His personal philosophies are as diverse, if not more so, than those of Bilich the filmmaker. A self-confessed "non-linear thinker," he has a knack for talking about one subject and getting sidetracked by another. "I always make my way back home, though," he says.

Speaking of home, he counts Austin as his home "both spiritually and artistically." He believes that you should cater to only what you believe in. And Bilich believes in Austin: he scouted his actors from some of Austin's finest performance houses, including Capitol City Playhouse, Esther's Follies, and the Velveeta Room. He shot it entirely in Austin and even wants to change the opening credits from "a film by Steve Bilich" to "a film by Austin." "I have a huge desire to give back to Austin and to the film community at large," he says.

In addition to his abiding love of Austin, Bilich is fascinated with soul mates, angels, and levels of spirituality in a small world where "soul mates find each other." This is a huge theme in the film. It is tied to his overall feeling of community, which he also depicts heavily in the film.

Apart from his community ties, he admits he has a penchant for making believers out of your ordinary working guy on the street. Apparently, this is working. Bilich has already made several believers in the form of an accountant, a publicist, and attorneys, all working basically pro bono because of their belief in Bilich's talent and vision.

As first visions go, Ruta Wakening is a fine piece of work. It tells the tale of the six couples with compassion, dignity, and a dose or two of humor. It also has some breathtaking shots, including light sprinkling into a room of two close friends talking and watering glistening off the face of a man while he's swimming. Not to mention some very interesting usages of Austin's finer landmarks, including the Congress street bridge, the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue, and those statues at Barton Springs.

But like many indie flicks, it is big on heart where it is lacking technically. Steve explains that the cut he is using now, euphemistically titled the "Festival Cut," was not really his choice either. During the shooting of the film, Bilich made a video version of the film as well. After he shot the film, he enlisted the services of 4MC of Burbank, California, to create a transformation of the film from video to 16mm. Bilich did this so that he could get an edited cut as quickly as possible because several film festivals, most notably Sundance, were showing interest in the film. 4MC assured him that the new version would be done quickly and would be a workable 16mm version with quality print and sound. They lied. Not only that, when Bilich insisted that they fix the film before he pay them anything else, they refused to release the print to Bilich, costing him a potential deal with Paramount pictures, who was showing BigTime interest in it. Has this been the worst part of making a film for Bilich? Perhaps, he admits. "Buyer beware," he warns.

What's next? First, the director's cut of the film, which is due out sometime in June.

Then, another festival here, one there -- first, the Florida International Film Festival in June, followed by the Worldfest in Charleston, S.C. in November -- then the arthouse circuit and sundry indie film stuff. He is also planning a follow up to Ruta, entitled Cigarettes, Vitamins, and Borrowed Time, another ode to Austin, due to shoot sometime this year. Eventually, he would like to find his way back to New York to do a film there. Not bad for a self-described "ordinary guy who just wants to make a living making films...and maybe fall in love and settle down."

Bilich's vision does not simply end with making films. He wants to expand his view of community to include the global one. To wit, he's trying to secure support from the city to build an international film cooperative right here in Austin,Texas. This brainchild of Steve's will bring filmmakers, from the eight countries that house Austin's sister cities, to our neck of the woods. In exchange, Texas filmmakers will get the opportunity to eat, sleep, and drink film overseas. He wants it to be a hands-on open forum for the exchange of ideas, film-making techniques, and global contacts. A pretty ambitious plan. "It's pending funding from the city," he says gingerly. Ah, the always-elusive funding issue, the indie filmmaker's albatross. But with a strong staff, and a good deal of vision and support, Mr. Bilich may soon have the whole wide world in his hands.