Locally produced film wins international honor

POCATELLO - An original film written, directed and produced in Pocatello by Idaho State University alumni has been selected for exhibition at the New York Film and Video Festival.

According to a press release from University Relations, the festival annually selects 250 films from among thousands of worldwide submissions. The selected films will be screened and judged by film industry adjudicators, critics and audiences.

The film, "Cache Minds," was written and directed by Christopher Ellis for Small Potato Films, a company formed by Ellis, Michael Czerepinski, David Blake, Aaron Villano, Phillip Carlson, Chad Rodgers and Jeff Bosley.

The cast includes all of the company members listed above plus Joe B. Haney, Lisa Hammond, Peter Podgursky, Robert Glick, Rod Hansen, Angeline Henricksen and others, all with strong connections to the Idaho State University theatre program. The film was produced by Ellis, Czerepinski, Villano, and Blake.

"Cache Minds" will be screened in Las Vegas the week of July 20-26. If it wins awards in Las Vegas, it also may be screened at three other venues of the New York Film and Video Festival, including Los Angeles, Sept. 30-Oct. 1; New York, November 2004; and Miami, February 2005.

Ellis notes that Pocatello is becoming a regional center for independent filmmaking. He feels the area offers a pool of "untapped treasures" - trained actors willing to be in productions and business and property owners who are wonderfully generous in offering locations.

Blake was similarly enthusiastic, adding, "Pocatello is a great place to make films because the community is so willing to help with any aspect of filmmaking, including filming locations, on-screen talent, and technical assistance."

Scenes were shot at a variety of locations in Pocatello, including Hooligan's, the Red Lion Hotel Pocatello, the South Fourth Street Chevron store, the Marshall Public Library and the ISU Pharmacy Building, and at Channel 8 news in Idaho Falls.

"Cache Minds" cast member Podgursky, a 2003 ISU graduate with a theatre degree, is currently a graduate student at the University of Southern California Film School. He plans to continue shooting films in this area as well as in Los Angeles.

Small Potato Films is currently working on a new script, "A Convenient Madness," written by ISU student Phillip Carlson. Shooting is scheduled for the coming winter.

Small Potato Films is currently planning a festival showcasing local film and video productions. Submissions from area film and videomakers are encouraged.

For more information, contact Norman Schroder, ISU associate professor of theatre, 208-282-3603.

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Copyright ? 2004 The Pocatello Idaho State Journal