MLK JR. WAY --- OAKLAND CA

“MLK Jr. Way” premiered at the San Francisco Latino Film Festival last fall. The film is an unscripted narrative of sorts about two young Mexican American guys who, after getting evicted from their house in Oakland, decide to find temporary girlfriends to move in with. Shot in and around Oakland, the film captures a lot of uncertainties for today’s youth with larger issues of relationships and racism. In a way, it becomes a slice of life. We caught up with the directors and writer of the film—three friends: Eliseo Cabrera Iribar, Kara Cohen and Erik Stinson—to talk Bay Area bourgie, films on repeat and the infamous “Locos Only” house.

Photo Credits: MLK Jr. Way/Matt Merkin What was your first experience with filmmaking like? (Eliseo) I helped a friend make a short film for college a few years ago and I loved the process. It was very collaborative, fun and everyone was on board to make something interesting and entertaining. Ever since then I have been making films and working on other people’s film projects. (Kara) I’d made a lot of very short films on my own, and some short films in classes before, but this was my first big project. It was so fun. It was great because we had a ton of freedom creatively. We just had fun all the time and bribed everyone with beer and whiskey. (Erik) In high school I did music for friend’s skate videos. I also took a class on stop motion animation. We had iMovie - the old one where you could just drop photos into a timeline and play them like video clips. Where did you grow up? (Eliseo) In El Cerrito/Richmond area of the East Bay. (Kara) As much as I don’t love to admit it, I mostly grew up in Marin County. I grew up in the same area as the two female leads. (Erik) Redmond, Washington. How is living in Oakland different than living in San Francisco? (Eliseo) Oakland is mellower. People are doing more creative things in Oakland. Musically, artistically, gastronomically, etc. San Francisco has its perks, but it can get pretty intense there sometimes. (Kara) It’s SO different. At least in West Oakland, where most of us lived. On the one hand there is this amazing sense of community among young people like us in Oakland, almost like a small town. There are so many opportunities to create, showcase and perform. There is so much creation. Oakland is an incredible city in many ways, the people are very down to earth, community oriented. People will always say ‘Hi’ on the street. Local business owners get to know you. But it’s also a city with a lot of turmoil. It’s a poor city, with a huge population of struggling people who have huge disadvantages in terms of escaping poverty and crime. There was never a day when I lived in Oakland where I wasn’t reminded of this, and I am so grateful for that. I grew up in Marin County, so living in Oakland gave me a lot of perspective. (Erik) I never lived in San Francisco. I went to grad school for advertising there and lived in Oakland. It seemed sort of quiet when I went out or chilled with friends. I imagine stillness and cool weather. Sleeping a lot and smoking pot.

How much of “MLK Jr. Way” was improvised? (Eliseo) The dialogue is pretty much 95% improvised with some written jokes here and there. I don’t really remember where. But the scenes were written. (Kara) Basically all of it. We had a story line. Most scenes had a purpose (some just happened). We would set up a premise for the scene and give the characters motivations and often tell them how we wanted to the scene to end. We wanted it to be real, like a window into our community. A script never would have been as funny or as insightful. All the actors were writers as well. They were not just acting, they were creating with us, and they were amazing. Gabe and Albert are so natural it’s hard to believe that they improvised almost everything. (Erik) ~90% of the actual dialog.