The Grand Valley State University 2012 Summer
Film Project “Realizism,” will be released to local audiences
during a premier screening at Celebration Cinema North.
The 30-minute film, a comic tale written and directed by Mitch
Nyberg, will be screened Friday, April 19, at 8 p.m. at Celebration
Cinema North, 2121 Celebration Drive NE, Grand Rapids. Admission is
$5, including a post-screening reception. DVDs of the film will be on
sale in the lobby for $10. All proceeds help fund future films.
The Summer Film Project was established by the School of
Communications in 1995 to offer Grand Valley junior and senior
students an opportunity to work side-by-side with industry
professionals to produce a short film. Each year, students may enroll
in the six-week practicum summer course that handles the
pre-production and filming. Post-production is done during a 15-week
fall course.
Nyberg, a 1983 Grand Valley alumnus, directed a crew of nearly
30 students during filming last August. A native of Coopersville,
Nyberg’s career includes work as a tour camera operator for Eric
Clapton, ‘NSync, the Dixie Chicks and the Italian tenor Andrea
Bocelli. Michigan Film Incentives encouraged him to return to Michigan
in 2008. The Hart Township resident has worked on several films shot
in Grand Rapids, including as production manager for “The Steam
Experiment,” staring Val Kilmer, and as location manager for
“Touchback,” the 2011 film starring Kurt Russell and Barry Sanders.
The film features Grand Rapids actor Joe Anderson and Saugatuck
actress Melissa Anschutz in the lead roles of Jake and Cheryl. They
play a married couple who must deal with downward social mobility
after foreclosure ousted them from their cushy home in the suburbs and
into the gritty reality of the urban jungle and a vast real estate conspiracy.
For more information, contact John Schmit, associate professor in the School of Communications, at (616) 331- 8510.
