WALLINGFORD - Michael J. Citak is still starting out in his acting career. He's been an extra in television and film and at the moment also plays the hunchback at the Haunted Graveyard at Lake Compounce.
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"It was either a classic car or a limo," he said. "I wanted it to be special."
"When North Winds Blow" is the first full-length feature by Liquid Chariot Productions, and is the brainchild of James M. De Vince, a Wallingford resident who wrote, directed and stars, playing the role of a father who is having a hard time relinquishing control of his teenage daughter, played by energetic 12-year-old Sophia Gilberto.
The film, shot mostly in Connecticut, features Sheehan High School as a major location. The premiere, complete with red-carpet entrances for the cast and crew, was at Holiday Cinemas, followed by a dinner at the Four Points by Sheraton, in Meriden.
The movie will begin a week-long run at Holiday Cinemas on Oct. 16.
"We're an independent theater chain, so it's always nice to help out independent directors and actors," said Kevin LaFlamme, Holiday Cinemas general manager.
A 1978 graduate of Lyman Hall High School, De Vince turned to film after he lost his job as a hotel manager. He decided to get serious about it about five years ago, he said.
He said he did not envision his film, shot on a budget of about $5,000, as a movie release but more along the lines of a Hallmark Channel television piece. The emphasis on the parental guidance rating.
The film, said De Vince, explores the difference between selfish love and selfless love.
The "difficult thing" for the father he portrays, he said, "is that his father let him do what he wanted - he got out of control and doesn't want that happening to his daughter."
De Vince is hoping this film will serve as a launching pad for other projects, and is already at work on a feature with a considerably larger budget, about $6 million. He's already written screenplays for seven other feature-length films, he said.
"Our earmark is clean family entertainment," said De Vince, who is 49. "We want people to feel comfortable."
It's the second feature film for Gilberto, a seventh-grader at a private school in Bristol, N.H. She said she's hoping to do more work with De Vince. When she first read the script, she said, she found it such a tear-jerker "I was balling in my room."
Playing the role of her high school buddy, Teddi Lappas also found the casting call for De Vince's film online.
"I like how supportive my character is," she said.
"I like that she has morals and is willing to stand by them," said Lappas, who is from Leominster, Mass.
The Internet is making it easier for filmmakers and those who want to be in film to connect.
"It's a great way to find local talent," said Citak, a 2001 Lyman Hall graduate. The Cadillac that brought him to the premiere was thanks to Wallingford's Reinmann Motors.
Technology is also making it easier for independent filmmakers to get their visions on screen.
LaFlamme said he was "toying with the idea" of hosting an independent film festival featuring local productions.
"James is a very nice guy and we like to see local business thrive, local everything," said LaFlamme.
jkurz@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2213
