Quirky 'Santa Isabel' filmed in Preston, Idaho

OREM, Utah — The town of Preston, Idaho, is getting another day in the movie sun."The Sinking of the Santa Isabel," which was screened Jan. 23 at the 8th LDS Film Festival here, projects a lot of the same sweet innocence that "Napoleon Dynamite" did. And like "Napoleon," "Santa Isabel" was filmed in Preston.The story starts out simply — and quirkily — enough.Webster (Maclain Nelson) is a 27-year-old single guy who has just quit his job at a copy center and been jilted just before his wedding. He decides to build a tree house in the backyard of the house where he lived as a child — and spend the summer there. Imagine the surprise of the elderly couple whose backyard it is. His return is sparked by a goal he made when he was 12. His rule: He can be outside of the tree house only one hour each day. He soon makes connections with people in the neighborhood: 13-year-old Jester (Brandon Luke Bringhurst), attractive married woman Beth (Susanne Sutchy) and the mailman Peter (Jake Suazo).Each has his or her own challenge. Jester says he lives with his grandparents and talks about his divorced parents, but in reality, he has no parents and lives with foster parents. Beth's husband is in the Peace Corps in Brazil and she gets no letters from him. And Peter is really a genius who had a meltdown, so he rides a bicycle (with a little trailer) to deliver the town's mail.Death, betrayal, forgiveness and friendship figure prominently in what is billed as a "damaged" comedy. For example, Webster meets Peter by shooting him in the leg with a BB gun — which is probably not the recommended way to meet friends and influence people. But it all works out in the end.A question-and-answer session was held with Nelson, Sutchy and Bringhurst during a delay toward the end of the film. Apparently the DVD was scratched, so it froze, and the actors took questions while another copy was found. Sutchy said the filming took place over a five-week period in Preston, "where there's one small hotel. Nelson was asked the budget of the movie, but he said he didn't know. Directors Jacob Hamblin and Michael Hamblin weren't able to attend the festival, because "they are in Las Vegas on a construction job."Independent filmmakers have to find other work to pay the bills, Nelson said.Before "The Sinking of Santa Isabel" feature film was shown, Joel Ackerman's nine-minute comedy, "Staying and Going," was screened. A divorcee named Cliff (who lives with his father) thinks a girl knocking at the door is a date he forgot about. Cliff's father thinks he should send the girl away and call his ex-wife. And the girl at the door overhears their bickering through the door and thinks it's hilarious.For more information about the film festival, which ended Jan. 24, visit www.ldsfilmfestival.org.