At the age of seventeen, I made an independent feature-length film called
Oceania. With the help of friends and family, we filmed in the San Francisco Bay Area on a budget less than $4,000. I learned about cinematography and editing on-the-spot over many long nights and weekends. We used a volunteer cast and crew and lots of donated equipment and help. The film finally hit the big screen at the
2008 Cinequest Film Festival, closing with a sold-out audience.
Oceania has since been released for free under a
Creative Commons license. Please download, share, and distribute it as you wish (over 25,000 viewers already have)!
A captivating drama that explodes with an intense visual style and sharp storytelling, Oceania is a rarity for such a young director. At 17-years-old, Dehal wrote and directed a film that reveals a talent and a cinematic eye far beyond even the most seasoned Hollywood directors, and based on his debut film, there is no doubt that Dehal is one of the big discoveries of the year (by Tamee Tanoor, Cinequest Film Festival).
Cinequest Film Festival (San Jose, USA) (2008)
OpenSource-OpenAir Kinofestival (Hamburg, Germany) (2008)
Fria Filmfestivalen (Gothenburg, Sweden) (2009)
Creative Commons Film Festival in Barcelona (Spain) (2010)
Festival Azure (Azores, Portugal) (2010)
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
