Former Southeast Student Plays in Midwestern Indie Film, "Belleville"

An indie film that was shot and set in the Midwest will be shown in 13 Wehrenberg theatres, including the Cape West 14 Cine, for one week.

The film "Belleville," which was filmed in and around Belleville, Illinois, opened at all 13 theatres on Friday, Sept. 5.

Executive producer and lead actor Ted Trent had a main goal to create a film about his hometown of Belleville. With the help of director Dan Steadman, the two wrote a script and established a basic storyline incorporating the unique characteristics of Belleville and the surrounding areas.

The story is about a farmer who has been depressed since the death of his wife. His life changes for the better after a stranger from another world shows up on his farm. Though the storyline deals with serious, real-life issues, there are many comical parts throughout the film.

"It's light-hearted. There's quite a few funny moments in the movie, but there are some poignant moments as well," said actor Keith Nussbaum, a former Southeast Missouri State University student. "This is a film, I think that, really, I think anyone would appreciate of any age."

Though a few of the actors are from Los Angeles, most of the parts in the movie were given to individuals from the Midwest like Nussbaum, who was born and raised in Granite City, Illinois. Nussbaum attended Southeast for one year before pursuing his dream of becoming an actor. Nussbaum plays the role of "Michael's better half" in the film.

According to Wehrenberg Theatres' general manager Anna Wilcox, the family-run theater company enjoys being able to show local and regional films in order to support the people who are making films in the area. Nussbaum thinks that the premiere, which was held this spring in Belleville, caught the attention of Wehrenberg Theatres.

"Our release we had here at the Lincoln Theatre in downtown Belleville," Nussbaum said. "We had a great opening for that. We had a red carpet event, all the cast was able to walk to the red carpet and we sold out our initial showing, and that following week really we outsold ['The Amazing Spider-Man 2'] if you can believe that."

The film caught more than just Wehrenberg's attention. The Award for Best Supporting Actress at the American Movie Awards was presented to Cooper Shaw, who plays "Arlene" in the film.

Along with the premiere of the film, the filmmakers held auditions on Friday, Sept. 5, and Saturday, Sept., 6 at each of the 13 Wehrenberg Theatres for a sports-related film also set in the Midwest.