While many will be opening presents this weekend, a local theater group, the Cine Club, has already started celebrating an early Christmas surprise.

Rather than coming in a wrapped box, the gift came in the form of the group's recent participation in the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival and its future screening at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The film that won the club the honor —— Ofrenda Desnuda or Bare Offering.

"It's very exciting. First, it is an honor to participate in these festivals. Also, it allows you to situate your work because you see the screening of many colleagues from independent film guerrillas," said Carlos von Son, member of the group and a professor at Cal State San Marcos and Palomar College.

Von Son and other community members, many of whom are students and former students from CSUSM, form the theater group.

Despite many months of hard work to finish the project, CSUSM student Amilcar Chavez said the experience has been unforgettable.

"It was a wonderful experience because I've never participated in a movie before. I learned a lot about how a movie is done," said Chavez.

Despite its commendable accomplishments thus far, the group has set more goals for the project.

"We want to screen the project Ofrenda Desnuda in Canada and in Germany. In the future, we would like to finish the second part of the project," explained von Son. The group is waiting to hear whether it has been accepted at festivals in Oregon and Canada. It also hopes to find a way to share the film in the community by finding proper distribution.

Ofrenda Desnuda is a video drama that represents the experiences of a Mexican immigrant in the Tijuana/San Diego border region. The main character faces problems ranging from the difficulties of crossing the border illegally to missing cultural celebrations —— in particular that of the Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

"The film is about the migration of Mexicans to other countries. The main theme is what migrants lose when they leave their country and try to regain it," said von Son about the film.

The story is in Spanish, and has adventure, passion, humor, love, madness and murder. It is rated R. It also features music from local groups such as Agua Dulce and Xavier Rojas and is set in places such as the desert near Ocotillo Wells and Tijuana.

For more information about the theater group and/or the film, email von Son at cvonson@palomar.edu.

Martha Sarabia is a Cal State San Marcos graduate who lives in San Marcos. Contact her at sarabiamartha@yahoo.com.