The ASUU free film series will screen “Point B,” a sci-fi film directed by a U alumnus, on Wednesday.
Conor Long, who directed the movie, graduated from the U in film and media arts in 2010 and will appear at the showing to speak and answer questions. Billed as “a dark comedy of reckless scientific behavior,” Long’s work follows the story of four students who discover their clean energy machine also functions as a teleportation device.
“Point B” is Long’s first feature film. He originally attempted to shoot a film in Taiwan but funding fell through. When he returned to Utah, he decided to finance a film himself.
“I pretty much maxed out every credit card I could get my hands on,” Long said.
The shoot was completed in 18 days in Salt Lake City during the summer of 2012, using a primarily local cast and crew. Tragedy struck the film when the lead actor, David Fetzer, also a U alumnus, passed away during post-production, essentially shutting down the film for several months.
Long decided to rewrite and reshoot some of the film, finishing post-production in about a year. The movie toured at various film festivals for another year before Long signed with IndustryWorks, a distribution company. Long hopes to have “Point B” on online streaming services, such as Hulu and iTunes, soon.
Long’s positive experience at the U encouraged him to return for his master’s degree, which he is currently pursuing.
“There are some excellent professors up here, which is one of the reasons I came back,” Long said. “Lots of the people I worked with on ‘Point B’ were people I met here doing my undergrad.”
The U’s Department of Film & Media Arts helped orchestrate the screening of Long’s film. Kevin Hanson, chair of the department, supports the film and hopes to give the production a broader audience.
The ASUU Free Film Series has been an ongoing event for more than six years. Erica Andersen advises the students who organize the event.
“It’s a student-driven effort,” Anderson said. “The students wanted to do a free film series showing a variety of films that would be appealing to the general student body.”
The series often coordinates films in conjunction with other events. As a late commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the group showed “Selma” on Feb. 3. Other special screenings include “dive-in” movies at the Student Life Center. Additional information and dates are available at asuu.utah.edu/freefilmseries.
“Point B” will be shown on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Post Theater.
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