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Literary mystery is brought to life in Saratoga

By Michele Tjin

It may not be Hollywood, but for some film crewmembers, Saratoga was picture-perfect.

Movie director Dina Ciraulo and her crew recently found themselves looking up at the dramatic and majestic redwood trees at Sanborn Park Hostel. These giant trees once dotted the whole Earth but are now found mostly in Northern California. There aren't a whole lot of them left, and Ciraulo knew she needed to make them a part of her story.

"I think this area in Northern California is really beautiful," she said. "We have a unique opportunity to capture this landscape."

It's no accident that Ciraulo ended up in Saratoga. A third-generation Bay Area native and a graduate of Los Gatos High School, she knows her old stamping grounds intimately. She currently teaches film production at City College of San Francisco and has 15 years of filmmaking to her credit.

It was Opal, her first feature film, that brought her to Saratoga. The movie is based on the real-life story of Opal Whiteley, who was born at the turn of the 20th century in the Pacific Northwest. She was a self-taught naturalist, and by the time she was a teenager, she gave public lectures on nature and wrote a book on how to teach children about nature.

When Whiteley's childhood diary was published in the Atlantic Monthly, she became an international sensation, Ciraulo said. However, Whiteley's identity came under scrutiny when her readers found French words in her diary and discovered hidden messages. They suggested she wasn't who she said she was.

Ciraulo said her movie is one that modern audiences can get behind because of the elements of intrigue and suspense.

"Did a child actually write the diary, or is it the work of a young adult?" she said. "It's a literary mystery with environmental overtones."

She likened the public's suspicions of Whiteley to the scrutiny author James Frey received last year when reports surfaced that he had embellished his memoir, A Million Little Pieces.

"In some way, it's the notion of [believing] people's identity that they constructed," Ciraulo said. "It's fiction versus nonfiction."

On location at Sanborn, Ciraulo and her cast and crew were filming a scene in which Whiteley returns home only to find that her family has left, driven out by the media's incessant interest in her. The group devoted about an hour's worth of work for what would only be a few seconds of dialogue on film. A take was deemed no good when a plane buzzed overhead. Then a cell phone chirped at an inopportune time. A few minutes later, the plane returned. Finally, Ciraulo had two takes that she liked.

Next shot, she called out. It would be the same five lines of dialogue, but now filmed from a different angle. The actors and camera operators moved into position. Whoever said moviemaking is glamorous must not have minded its repetitive nature.

"It's pretty laborious," said Jason Cohen, one of the producers.

It's not cheap to make a movie either, especially one that is still shot on film. The Opal project is a low-budget picture; Ciraulo has less than $500,000 to spend to make her vision a reality.

"It's a period piece. I thought, 'how on earth are we going to pull it off?' said Svetlana Cvetko, director of photography. "But once I saw the locations and the research into costumes and props, I knew we could pull it off."

Ciraulo has had to be creative in order to make her money stretch and her movie look realistic. A graphic designer researched what a 1918 newspaper looked like and reproduced one for her. Her aunt Judy is a hairstylist who just happens to know how to whip up period hairstyles quickly on the set.

"To have these kinds of details makes a huge difference for a low-budget film," Ciraulo said.

For many of those who have been involved in overseeing the movie, the locations where they film are just as important to the story as the characters. This recent excursion to Sanborn was not the first such trip. The crew already spent a few days in the redwood groves last year and realized they would provide the perfect setting for additional scenes.

Also, last July, the team set up shop on the grounds of Montalvo Arts Center. Rachel Benson, another producer, remembered how one day last summer in Saratoga, the mercury topped 100, making a long day seem even longer. The crew needed to get live butterflies to land on the actress playing Whiteley but weren't sure how to go about it. They eventually sprayed her with sugar water, and the butterflies landed on her arm on cue.

"That was a moment that was so uplifting, when nature cooperates," Benson said.

That was just one example of how much luck they've had with their locations for the movie, she said.

"These amazing locations are as much a part of the storytelling as anything else," Benson said.

The film crew also shot in San Jose's History Park at Kelley Park.

As the Bay Area is known for its microclimates, the Opal team has experienced all the weather extremes, from summer scorch in the South Bay to the chill that strikes Bolinas in Marin County. It's not all glitz and glamour for 21-year-old actress Nayeli Adorador-Knudsen of Berkeley, who plays Whiteley, but this is exactly what she aspires to do.

"This is my first movie where I've had a principal role," she said. "It's been a long process, but I've learned a lot, like how a movie set works."

Ciraulo is incredibly pleased with the professionalism she's seen in her crew members and actors. She started her research five years ago and began shooting last year. The beauty has been seeing others take what has been her vision and add new elements.

"They can bring a sensibility to a character that I never expected," she said. "I love it. It's the joy of doing this work."

There's still quite a ways to go before the movie can reach an audience. Besides the filming that concludes in August and the post-production process that takes place after that, Ciraulo must find potential buyers who are willing to distribute the film. There may be promising news on that front. She was invited to show a trailer of her movie at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival this year and attend a producers network there.

"It was like speed-dating for producers all over the world," she said. "It was a big deal."

Ciraulo has her own opinions about just who Whiteley was, whether she was a misunderstood naturalist or a fraud, but she is not revealing which way she leans. Whiteley may not be a household name, but she does have an underground cult following, Ciraulo said. Her books have been translated into Chinese, French and German, and there is a musical, a documentary and a theme park that are already devoted to her memory. Ciraulo hopes her movie will be a worthy addition to what's already out there.

"The film doesn't take a stand one way or another," Ciraulo said. "I'm interested in her no matter what. She was committed to studying nature and teaching. These are qualities we can get behind and embrace."