Film director and produce Rao’s thriller “Ultrasonic” is playing in Washington-area theaters and recently won Best of the Fest at the DC Independent Film Festival. Rao lives in Potomac.
What is your movie about?
It’s about a musician that hears sounds that nobody else can hear. And one day, he just starts hearing the sound and his wife thinks he is crazy, but his brother-in-law thinks it is a mind control experiment.
Where did you get the idea for the movie?
I just met with co-writer Mike Maguire and we just started talking about this idea of a musician wanting to write the perfect song, and what that would be like. We ended up veering away from that story line and turned it into one about a musician who just starts hearing something no one else can hear.
How did you get into filmmaking?
I had always wanted to make films, and about 12 years ago I made my first short film. I just didn’t have the funding to make a feature, so I had to wait for the technology to catch up.
What do you mean by that?
It was a lot more expensive to make films 15 years ago. With the new cameras that are out there and the ability to edit on a laptop, it’s made it a lot easier to do that.
How has the new technology changed filmmaking?
I think for one, it has been completely democratized. What was once something that was reserved for a small group of people before is now really accessible for people who can get together a small amount of money to make a film.
How does D.C. rate for budding filmmakers?
It’s actually really a burgeoning indie film market. There are a lot of actors here and a lot of creative talent. I think there is really something happening here in D.C. in the indie film scene.
– Susan Ferrechio
