Independent Movie Filmed at Patricia's Green

On Saturday night, we stumbled upon an interesting sight at Patricia's Green: a production crew filming underneath the tree at the intersection of Hayes and Octavia.

Along with dozens of crew members running around and setting up paper lanterns in the tree's branches, there were musicians, jugglers and hula hoopers standing by. As it turns out, they were filming a movie. We caught up with Anuj Nijhawan, the film's director, who gave us a brief rundown of what was going on. The film is called Sonder, and explores the idea that “each passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own." The production crew even had that definition written on a sandwich board for all to see. “The film is based on the concept that the people around you are living regular, mundane, boring lives, and what if they have another facet to themselves,” Anuj told us. “So this movie follows five older people, who live in or around San Francisco, and we see a variety of characters go through their regular day, and then we see their day completely transform when they get together at the end. We're shooting the final climax of the movie here." When asked why he chose Hayes Valley -- and particularly Patricia's Green -- for the setting of the climax of the movie, Anuj remarked that it's a particularly beautiful park in the city, full of colors and great scenery. Shooting of the film's climax continued at Patrcia's Green on Sunday afternoon as well. Once the film is finished, Anuj plans to submit Sonder to film festivals around the world. If you’re interested in learning more about Sonder and its release date, check out the production's Facebook page.