Producer Tom Proctor and director Brendan Moriarty are starting a Cambodian shoot for their “buddy picture” and war story The Road to Freedom for California-based Madcat Productions.

The shoot will continue until late July; an early 2010 release is planned.

Joshua Fredric Smith and Scott Maguire star as two photojournalists who work in war-torn Cambodia during the 1972 reign of the Khmer Rouge. The story is inspired by real events.

“The script is everything and rock solid thanks to the amazing story of director Brendan Moriarty and the artistry of screenwriters Margie Rogers and Thomas Schade,” said producer Proctor, who is also an actor that will appear in the project. “Our characters are true-spine and for the lead roles of Sean and Dana, we had the good fortune to find actors who can deliver authentic, gut-wrenching performances.”

Director Moriarty was raised in Cambodia.

Cinematographer David Mun will shoot using the Red camera.

“Seeing his work from Sons of Anarchy and Grey’s Anatomy and having worked with him on two feature films, I knew Dave was the stylized shooter we needed,” added Proctor.