March 20th 2009 on location in Tompkins Square Park.


May 2009, on location Hudson Valley


June 2009 outside Ocean City, NJ

Times Square shoot

MORE ABOUT KAYA

SOUNDTRACK
"Inside of Love" by Nada Surf
"Strongest Man in the World" by Menomena
"Firefly," "When She Goes Out," "Memphis," by Jucifer
"A Boulder Tycoon or Enya" and "This Geometric Is Written Is" by SPRCSS
Additional songs by Osis and The Humans
Original score by Daniel Berk

CURRENT STATUS
Principal photography finished in late January 2010. Picture lock (Director's Cut) completed April 2010.
Festival cut locked June 20th, 2010.
Premiere August 7, 2010 at the Hardacre Film Festival. Won for Best Short Film.

CAST & CREW
It took six months to cast the lead, Joanna Schubert, a LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts graduate. Her high-school friend-turned-enemy in Iowa was played by Kellyn Lindsay. Kaya's mom is Victoria Vance.

NYC bike messengers Scott Klocksin, JT, Yatika Fields (both excellent painters) and Heather Muller are featured in the film. "Empire Begins" shooters Christian Thormann and Luke Stiles helped shoot footage.

Writer/Director Tony Leonardo and Director of Photography Shachar Langlev met at the Brooklyn College Film Department in 2001. This is their fourth project together. Editor Katie Flaxman made it come to life.

THE NAME CHANGE
This film was originally titled "The Messenger" (as you can see on Facebook) but for several reasons was changed to "Kaya" which is the title character's name.

THE ACTION
All of the city biking shots were shot in the streets of New York using four different techniques. The camera is always moving along with the cyclists in all shots. Scenes in Iowa were shot differently and allowed for the camera to be on a tripod or steady.

THE PLOT OF THE MOVIE
Kaya is a senior in high school in a closed-minded Iowa town. She is a cyclist but her friends and her mother do not take her passion seriously. To prove herself she forsakes college, leaves Iowa and comes to New York City. Needing a job, she becomes a bike messenger.

THE TWIST
Chronologically, the first half of the film is actually the second half. The end of the film and the beginning of the film are the same moment in time.