Fast & Furious: The Reality

In the Fast & Furious franchise, characters emerge unscathed from mind-bending, vertiginous street races. But in real life, such is not usually the case.

In the spring of 2012, Matthew McMahon, a 21-year-old Napierville, Illinois resident driving a souped-up 2001 Toyota Corolla, was street racing with another same-age individual at the wheel of a 2011 Ford Fiesta. He lost control of his vehicle, crashed into a pole and died.

One way to posthumously tell this story would be to focus on the other driver. Yair Lopez-Laviano is still at large after being charged last fall with a felony of aggravated street racing and companion counts of driving without a license in connection with the crash. According to reports, Lopez-Laviano quickly fled across the border in the wake of the accident and is presently a fugitive.

But Mike Krumlauf, McMahon's best friend, has chosen instead to focus on the story of the victim. His 24-minute short documentary A Place To Call His Own, an "experimental film of life, love, and remembering those who truly leave a lasting impact on your life," premieres Wednesday September 18th at the Napierville Independent Film Festival.



There is a message in the film about the dangers of street racing. That was included at the behest of a local cop, who happened upon Krumlauf filming this spring. But overall, the goal is to remind people not to judge a person by the incident details.

McMahon was much more than a young man enamored with thrill of street racing, and no doubt there will be lots of emotion at this week's hometown debut. The movie encores at the festival September 20th.

[A Place To Call His Own]