Dilan Jay, a Sri Lankan-American filmmaker, musician, and actor brings American action film Hollow Point with a mission for minorities in film.
Hollow Point (2019), directed by Daniel Zirilli, tells the story of a traumatized ethics professor whose wife and daughter are senselessly murdered, a cataclysm which forces him to join a group of charismatic vigilantes to face off against his family’s killer, while he confronts his personal dilemma in his quest for vengeance and justice.
Hollow Point is Dilan Jay’s first Hollywood action film. Shot and cut in Los Angeles and produced by his company Halcyon Media Group. The star lineup boasts top talent: Luke Goss (Blade II, Hellboy: The Golden Army), Juju Chan (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny), Jay Mohr (Jerry Maguire, Street Kings), Michael Pare (The Infiltrator, The Lincoln Lawyer), and Bill Duke (Mandy, Predator).
Dilan Jay also stars in Hollow Point as principal actor, Professor Nolan Cooray, making him one of the first Sri Lankan lead actors in an American action film ever. True that Indians star more and more in American media today — think: Himesh Patel, Aziz Ansari, and Mindy Kaling — but Sri Lanka, being an island off the southeast tip of India, needs some mainstream film representation, particularly in non-stereotypical lead roles.
“I put myself, a Sri Lankan, as the protagonist because I realized that if I wanted to see a Sri Lankan star in an American action film like Hollow Point, I simply had to create the opportunity because it does not exist — you just don’t see it happening yet,” said Dilan.
Thus, Hollow Point’s creation and purpose represents more than action-packed entertainment. Dilan aims to use film as a way to effect tangible — and hopefully replicable — change in industry stereotypes. For example, he deliberately recruited and casted women into key roles, such as:
- Director of Photography
- Line Producer
- 1st AD
- And recasted one of the male lead roles to be female.
“Not only did I want to see more female representation in Hollow Point, but I chose to flip the bad guy stereotype from the usual thick-accented thug from Eastern Europe — or black gangster — to a white villain from America,” commented Dilan.
Dilan continues, “Racial and gender precedents which occur in Hollywood will and do influence the rest of the world’s media. So I believe a profound responsibility lies with film producers, media creators, and artists to overtly push against the antiquated idea that movies will not sell with women, Indians (even Sri Lankans), and other minorities in lead roles.”
Thus, Hollow Point carries with it a burgeoning story of opportunity not only for women, but for minorities, Sri Lankans, and anyone else who wants a voice.
Hollow Point is currently being distributed worldwide, with international sales already concluded in Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The film has been entered into film festivals internationally, with its first screening at the No Identity International Action Film Festival in Seville, Spain, June 29, 2019. View the trailer at www.hollowpointactionfilm.com
