City College’s film production department has been working on the short film called “Someone’s Hero.” Thirteen students from Film Production Class 294, “Capstone,” have been working together to create their newest, professional-tier movie.
The story is about a failing police cadet who tries to follow in the steps of his brother and father, said Amalie Lintrup, writer and director of the movie.
“His brother passed on the line of duty. So he believes the way of making all that happen is doing the exact same thing,” said Lintrup. “He fails miserably, and then tries to figure out what his way of life is now.”
The students are making this movie almost completely independently, with the help of a professional crew and equipment. There has been some supervision from Curtis Bieber, department chair and adviser for the class.
“Behind Closed Doors,” the first professional-level capstone movie, was successfully produced and presented last year. It was inspired by a true story. It told the story of a pastor at a church in a small conservative town, who decided to stop ignoring his true identity as a homosexual.
Curtis Bieber introduced the capstone class in 2015. It is a 6-unit, advanced class offered by the film department each fall. This class is not required for a degree, but it accommodates every student who has taken other advanced film classes and wants to make a career in film and television.
“Capstone class is designed to be the final class in people’s journey here at the SBCC Film Department,” Bieber said.
Students, the SBCC Foundation and a fundraising campaign are all helping to finance the film.
“We have a grant from SBCC Foundation, which is $5000, and then everyone in the class is required to put in at least a hundred dollars,” said Ida Dahlgren, film producer. “Besides, me and Amalie are buying a lot of things on our own.”
The team has started their project with more than $6000. They were able to raise $650 on Indiegogo, a site designed to help people raise money for a variety of projects. A total of $10,000 is needed to allow them to work more comfortably, efficiently and be prepared for any possible obstacles, Dahlgren said.
The main filming locations are a police academy in Lompoc, and a house that belongs to one of the team members.
City College contributes to the movie production by providing the equipment and insurance, which students need for filming.
The approximate duration of the movie is 15 to 16 minutes. The students just started making the film and they expect it to be done Dec. 4. The movie will be sent to various film festivals, including the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
“Personally, I would love to send it to Denmark and to Sweden, because I’m from Sweden and Amalie is from Denmark. Also we’ll try Italy and France,” said Dahlgren.
