In 2014, Prabu Muruganantham was an engineering student from South India with an interest in film and philosophy who was moving to Portland. He became connected to his friend Deborah, an original program volunteer with Open Hearts Open Minds and was invited to go see a play inside a prison. In 2019, he joined the board and was finally able to bring his ideas into creative programming. He had always had an interest in film, citing major inspirations like Terrence Malick that have given him his contagious passion. 

The idea for In The Beginning came from talking with returned citizens and asking them about their experiences. When COVID-19 suspended regular inside programs, it seemed like the right time to take on a new kind of project that returned citizen alumni and volunteers could be brought in on. Prabu realized that film could tell the stories he had heard in a new way that would spark compassion from the audience. “Although it involves dialogue, the visual element of film is very universal,” says Prabu, “visually you can connect with the emotions of people from any culture. This is crucial.”

The storyline follows one man’s experience coming out of incarceration and dealing with his own emotions while experiencing challenges reconnecting with his family, finding basic living necessities, and interacting with different government and religious institutions. The film style is reflective of Prabu’s inspiration, exploring spiritual themes with purposefully dreamlike imagery and long takes.

As a first-time filmmaker and director, Prabu says he learned a lot from his collaborators like Assistant Director Cambria Tingley and Cinematographer Tehben Dean. With a close-knit cast and crew of only 19, returned citizen actors and crew were able to switch things up and improvise where they liked. Prabu emphasizes “To me a director’s job is to set the mood and bring everyone together and discover what they are all bringing.” To him, going with the flow is much more important than putting things together artificially. 

He recalls a particular scene where actors Daniel Bluestein (Blue) playing a Parole Officer and Joshua Bligh playing the lead returning citizen were able to “play” and improvise with each other to create an authentic-feeling moment. Actor Deb DesLaurier also designed the set for the scene. “That was a standout moment for me. 

There were multiple setbacks due to COVID-19, Prabu explains. Even with the script written, he had to wait months to schedule shoots and assemble a crew. Once filming began, indoor shoots were especially tricky, causing more delays. Several scenes in the prison also felt less real for the cast and crew due to mask requirements for the COs. Despite these hurdles, Prabu talks about it as a “blessing in disguise because we had time to find the right people” which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

Prabu is clearly grateful for the energy of the cast and crew, “Honestly I felt like everybody in the project had that passion for the filmmaking.” Everyone’s connection on set and passion for the project speak to the personal connection that it’s subject has with our lives and society. “The question is ethical,” he states.

Currently, Prabu is deep in the editing process with Post-Production Editor Aarabhi Raudran and his brother and Sound Designer Prasanth Muruganantham. There are another four or five drafts to go, he says, before we will see a finished film. 

Joshua Bligh, who plays the lead, is a self-named creative who runs a photography collective called the Renaissance Punks. He likes to experiment with different art forms, he says, and acting is just another one of them like charcoal or tattooing,”It just sort of pours out and it’s something I can’t help doing.” 

He has been involved with film for a long time, however, and connected with Director Prabu through a Portland casting ad. They hit it off from the start, finding common interests in favorite writers and directors like Andrei Tarkovsky. They also had a shared vision for the film itself and the importance of talking about this subject in the mainstream arena. “I think he liked what I portrayed during the audition and the fact that I’ve had real life experience,” he reflects. 

Aside from having personal experience being convicted, Josh also worked as a wildland firefighter for about three years for the Oregon Department of Corrections where he was able to gain new perspective and inspiration in a high-stakes environment. He also has experience working at a homeless shelter and in other forms of service, witnessing in real time the prejudice that people struggling with homelessness or a criminal record deal with even as they try to improve their situations on the outside.

He noted that it was nice to be working with a director who had a real vision as opposed to some of his other experiences, having been typecast for roles created by ignorant people in entertainment on reality TV projects. Prabu had the same appreciation for Josh, complimenting the “amazing amount of preparation” he did and their communication throughout the whole filming process. 

Josh was also able to connect and talk with the rest of the cast and crew, forming new relationships with other actors like Blue and Deb. He describes the process overall as “real gorilla indie filming where you don’t really ask permission. The camera just starts rolling and you go from one location to the next in sort of a haphazard fashion, but I think that’s kind of fun, you know?”

By Elena Ressel, Pacific University | Undergraduate Class of 2022 | Psychology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society Major