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Movie-Making Couple Filming In Rogers Park To Showcase Diversity, Real Life

By Linze Rice | August 5, 2015 5:55am
 Carlos Treviño (l.) and Kyle Henry (r.), a Rogers Park couple and film making team, talk about the struggles that come along with mid-life in their new movie,
Carlos Treviño (l.) and Kyle Henry (r.), a Rogers Park couple and film making team, talk about the struggles that come along with mid-life in their new movie, "The Year That Changed Us," which they are currently raising money for.
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DNAinfo/Linze Rice

ROGERS PARK — In "The Year That Changed Us," a new independent film written, directed and produced by Rogers Park couple Carlos Treviño and Kyle Henry, the Far North Side neighborhood serves as the perfect setting to highlight the unique struggles, and triumphs, that come along with interracial couples reaching mid-life.

Being in a gay, interracial relationship themselves for the past 16 years, the experienced filmmaking couple said they grew tired of seeing a strong lack of movies depicting the true realities of peoples' lives beyond the typical "coming of age" story. Seven years ago, they decided to team up and put their movie magic skills together.

"I am always compelled to tell stories that seem to be right in front of my face, yet I don't see in the world of film as a maker," Henry said. "This also came from a personal place, because Carlos and I are in our mid-40s, and I don't see a lot of work that represents mid-life and the challenges mid-life is confronting us with in an intelligent way."

The result of their frustration, experience and creativity culminated in their upcoming feature-length film project, "The Year That Changed Us," for which they are raising $20,000 by way of a Kickstarter campaign in order to pay the movie's actors. As of Wednesday morning, they'd raised almost $5,100.

"I have not seen a film yet that captures what Rogers Park is and what I think Chicago is," Henry said, adding many films depicting Chicago are often filmed in the suburbs and show a less diverse range of people.

The duo got their big break for the film when Henry, a film professor at Northwestern who has had shows debut at both Sundance and Cannes film festivals, got an Individual Artists Grant from the city's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events that awarded him up to $5,000 to get the ball rolling.

The grant also comes with a free screening of the movie, which the couple said they would like to see held at Rogers Park's very own Mayne Stage on Morse Avenue.

"As we found out, Rogers Park is the most diverse neighborhood in Chicago in terms of ethnicity and culture, which is just a great environment to be in," Treviño said. "It's also pretty gay."

In the film, two interracial couples must confront the challenges in their lives and relationships as they continue to navigate through their own ongoing journey of self-discovery.

As Henry describes in the movie's fundraising page:

"It’s the story of Zeke, a Realtor, and his wife, Grace, an early education teacher, who seem to have it all, when a sudden reversal of fortune brings long-simmering resentments to the surface. It’s also the story of Grace’s brother Chris, a writer battling depression, and his long-term partner, Deena, a politician’s aide, who faces a personal crisis of her own."

The film's premise, coupled with the fact Treviño and Henry made Rogers Park their home after leaving Austin, Texas, made the neighborhood an easy choice when it came to choosing a setting.

"If you're going to move to a place like Chicago, you want to get the benefit of living in a big American city — and that's coming into contact, on the streets, every day, with people from many different cultures," Henry said. "There's a respect for all people, and I really love that."

For the past year, the couple has been filming footage along the community's beach shorelines, at CTA stations and throughout.

As the film progresses, they said they plan to continue shooting around town, preferably within local storefronts, restaurants, schools and more.

"Any level, $1, $5, is important to us because we just want the biggest number of backers to show that really people want to see films about interracial couples going through mid-life experiences," Henry said.

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