Salas explores other side of the camera

This is the third in a series of interviews profiling the lead performers in the original Saipan ShodaVision production of State of Liberty, due to air in Saipan in January 2007.

The State of Liberty is set in a fictional bar of the same name somewhere in the hillsides of Saipan. It is run and patronized by a diverse group of individuals all in pursuit of the elusive American dream. Principal characters are played by actors of Carolinian, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, stateside American, Bangladeshi, Filipino, and Chamorro heritage.

Ben Salas plays the part of Arck. A champion mixed martial artist, Arck is a bodyguard by trade. Born of familial turmoil and mute by choice, Arck is silently, stealthily in pursuit of a personal spiritual sense of inner peace.

Writer, director Dan Shor had worked with Ben before. They collaborated on the short films Dandan, Saipan and Fish out of Water for Northern Mariana College and the Saipan Arts Council respectively.

“Ben is just gifted.” said Shor. “He’s an actor, poet, musician, cameraman, you name it. His only problem is in harnessing all that innate, yet scattered energy. In this project Ben was asked merely to act. He did that exceptionally well and with principal photography already in the can; he has re-harnessed that energy to begin scoring the project. Ben created the musical score for Fish Out of Water and did a tremendous job on that, so nothing less is expected this time.

Question: Where are you from?

Ben: I was born in Hawaii, but raised on Saipan. The nature of my father’s business allowed me the opportunity to view the world at a very young age. But my heart is on this rock.

Question: What is your background?

Ben: I am Chamorro with Carolinian ancestry on my grandfather’s side. I am a Borja, Tudela, Sablan, Roberto, Celis, Salas with contributing genes from every island neighborhood from Marpi to Tototville.

Question: Is that why you were comfortable playing a Chamorro, Brazilian, Jew in “Dandan, Saipan”?

Ben: Well, now that was a stretch.

Question: You went to college in the states?

Ben: I went to Knox College in Illinois.

Question: Cold there?

Ben: I had to adjust to the seasonal changes. It was a lot of stress to lay on the body of an island boy used to a tropical climate.

Question: What brought you back to the islands?

Ben: Seriously?

Question: Yes.

Ben: My heart has always been home.

Question: Have you always wanted to be a filmmaker?

Ben: I always had a passion for watching films. I had an epiphany while at college: Why merely watch movies when I could devote my time to making them. The opportunity arose when I met a motley crew of individuals here on my island home. I started making films with them and never looked back.

Ben has written and directed a short film called Churchgoer. While at the Northern Mariana College school of television and film, he worked on a variety of projects as writer, director, cameraman, actor, lighting designer and music producer.

Question: You have the dream of being a filmmaker. Why not go to Hollywood? Why do you stay here?

Ben: That is a good question. You are not the first person who has asked. In fact, you are about the fiftieth. Simply put; I want to put my home on the map. We all want to do something in service of the people that we care so much about. Cinema affords that possibility. It’s the least I could do for the rock that raised me.

Question: I hear you will be scoring the project. True?

Ben: Yes. I’ve had a love for music as long as I’ve had a love for film. When I construct a beat, I tend to imagine the sounds visually. Conversely, when I look at an image, I tend to see it musically. Cinema affords a true marriage of sound and image. My eclectic international musical tastes blend with the cultural mixing bowl of this stories theme.

Question: “State of Liberty” takes place in a bar filled with immigrants. How does your character fit in?

Ben: Though my character is local, he too is looking for a home. We are all seeking identity in this project. We are all seeking a place on this rock. We are all seeking to find where we fit within ourselves and within the scheme of the world.

Question: That hair? How long have you looked like a New Zealand black sheep and why?

Ben: Black sheep make better lovers, or haven’t you heard about that? Or would you rather hear that when I shave these Samsonian locks, I will get close to 10,000 Chinese Yen for them. Or truthfully, the woman who shares my life likes the way I look and she is bleeping beautiful.