Read the Aug. 28, 2007 interview in The Desert Sun.
At 25, director Omi Vaidya is ready to make an impact on the film world.
By screening his short, "The Desert Rose," he hopes to create a dialogue in the valley. Raised in Yucca Valley, the filmmaker worked for a construction company and witnessed a disconnect between day laborers and homeowners in gated communities.
"Just as in cities like New York and Los Angeles, different races coexist, but do not really connect," Vaidya notes. "It's not really a melting pot as much as a salad bowl."
These observations influenced the relationship between the short's two main characters, a country club resident and her Hispanic gardener.
"In the valley, there are areas where people don't even know English -- it's a different country in towns such as Mecca," Vaidya notes. "The connection is not there, and people stereotype each other, holding onto a fear of something different."
Using the film as a springboard towards a feature-length film career, Vaidya developed his characters with the help of writer Mary Kaiser. In order to best explore the depth of the central character that they created, he hired an actress with a little experience: 1953 Oscar nominee Terry Moore (for Come Back, Little Sheba).
However, Vaidya did not overlook his hometown for Hollywood. "The valley has a lot of potential, and I wanted to bring something back," he said of the Rancho Mirage filming location and sole use of locals as extras.
The director felt it important to contrast the different lifestyles of the Coachella/Indio area against that of communities like Rancho Mirage and La Quinta. "What would it take for two different people from those areas to connect?" Vaidya posed.
"That's my goal, to make the audience look at people a little differently," Vaidya said. "I really want to make that change in people, and it starts locally."
His desire for the community to look introspectively and outwardly was the driving force behind his film. "The real change starts after film is done," Vaidya says.