Created by the screenwriter of million dollar baby, "Crash" has been described by San Francisco film critic Ruthe Stein as a "shocking new film that makes no attempt to sugarcoat the racism bubbling under the surface of sunny life in Los Angeles." Paul Haggis who wrote and directed the film drew his inspiration from his own real life situations. In 1991, Haggis and his wife were carjacked at gun point while stopping at a local video store. Luckily, the only thing lost was the vehicle. For several years Haggis often wondered, who the kids were and if that was their first time committing the crime. Haunted by the recurring thoughts, Haggis would awake in the middle of the night and begin to write away at the computer. He later described his unorthodox nocturnal writing endeavors saying that, "if I didn't get up, I'd forget all about it, and it could be the best idea I'd ever have.""Crash" which was made independently on a $7 million budget, caught the attention of Don Cheadle who was among the first to read the script. Cheadle liked the script so much he not only agreed to star in the film as a police detective, but to also contribute to the films production. With a heavy hitter like Don Cheadle in the picture along with Oscar-nominated screenwriter Paul Haggis, it wasn't long until an impressive cast including Sandra Bullock as a haughty Brentwood wife and Matt Dillon as a racist cop joined the film.Haggis, who didn't get into the movies until he was 50, had this to say of his cast, "They all worked for incredibly little," adding "I'm not supposed to say how much, but it was really nothing." A prescreening of the film, presented by the Miami based arts organization Gen Art as one of their 8 featured "Indie Film Series" installments, will take place on Wednesday May 4th at 7:30 pm at the Regal South Beach Cinema. Tickets are still available, and include admission to an after party being held at the Hotel Victor on Ocean drive. For more info, contact Gen Art at 305-695-8200.