Street spirit: Films flourish

Summer notoriously IS a time for movies, and this year the local scene is as hot as Hollywood. There's a local film or project sitting in almost every stage of production.

Victory Films just screened its small town saga "Fire Lily" and plan to tweak it then ship it to several film festivals. If you missed the screening, you've missed a good, homegrown film. It's a painfully realistic depiction of life after high school in a small town where everyone is struggling to breathe.

Steve Turner and Schrader Turner Films just wrapped filming his second feature-length film, "Dark Road." Turner and Pat Bond have entered the editing cave, and Turner hopes to be done with it in a couple of months.

For "Dark Road," they "decided to embrace" the Midwest and Southeast Missouri," Turner said. Turner said he and his crew sat down and asked themselves "What do we have that Chicago or L.A. don't have?" As a result, the movie -- about a small town sheriff investigating a recent murder -- showcases Cape Girardeau, the river and the landscape.

Jeremy Ford held a casting call in April and plans to hold another in early June for his horror film he hopes to film here this summer or in the fall. Ford is flying in from Los Angeles to take advantage of the wilderness around Cape Girardeau and the talent within the community for his bloody flick titled "Trail of Tears." He promised he would let me know as soon as he secured a casting location.

From baby stages to big screens, Cape Girardeau and its film community are all over the place. But what about video stores? Did I forget to mention that "Killshot" has finally come out on DVD? P-Mac and Cape Video confirmed they would order copies. I got no word on any others.