He grew up in Salt Lake City, but you'd never guess filmmaker Brooks Branch wasn't from the East Coast.
Branch happily acknowledges the influence of such New York-centric directors as John Cassavetes and Woody Allen in his work — particularly his first feature film, "Multiple Sarcasms," which opened locally on Friday.
And this material is not a far cry from what Cassavetes did in both "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974) and "Opening Night" (1977), and what Allen did in both "Interiors" (1978) and "Manhattan" (1979).
Branch even set his film in the late 1970s, when both men were at the height of their careers.
"I guess I'm pretty shameless. But what can I say? I have great taste in films," the 42-year-old screenwriter/director chuckled.
Speaking from Washington, where he was screening his film at the Seattle Film Festival, Branch said that the film is "own original work that stands on its own, though."
The independently produced drama follows Gabriel Richmond (Timothy Hutton), a fairly successful, 40-something architect who's also trying his hand at being a writer.
The complication there is that Gabriel is using his messy personal life — and his relationships with various women, including characters played by Dana Delany and Mira Sorvino — as source material for his latest project.
Branch's own press notes describe "Multiple Sarcasms" as a man's attempts to "re-author his own life, looking back on the pieces of his fractured self.
"(Gabriel) begins to see that life is not always as controlled as a play or movie and sometimes the best thing an author can do is let the characters speak for themselves."
He quickly added that the character and the situations are not "necessarily based on me and my own life."
Instead, Branch garnered stories while working for Paramount Pictures as a licensing and marketing executive, and "learned a lot from those experiences.
"I guess mine is the same story where people working in the industry think they can do much better than those who are making the movies," he explained.
Branch wrote an early version of the story more than 10 years ago, but he continued to revise it over the years — especially once investors and producers showed interest.
"Sometimes it takes a while to get people to buy into you, to buy into the story you're trying to tell."
Somehow, Branch was able to do that — and land Hutton, Delany and Sorvino, as well as both Stockard Channing and Mario Van Peebles, who play crucial supporting roles.
"I got pretty lucky with casting," he said. "Either that, or maybe I did something right with this project."
Appropriately, the former Utahn is premiering the film in his former stomping grounds. Branch will be in Salt Lake City May 11 to introduce his film and answer questions. (While that event will take place at the Broadway Centre Cinemas, a post-screening reception will also be held at the New Yorker Club.)
Salt Lake City has "a rich, vibrant arts community," according to Branch. "And the film scene is not just limited to Sundance Film Festival, as great as it is."
In fact, he says he frequents the local art-house theaters the Broadway and Tower any time he returns. (Branch still has relatives who live in the Beehive State, and he visits semi-regularly.)
"People need to take advantage of everything these theaters have to offer. You all have it really good there."
If you go...
What: "Multiple Sarcasms," with screenwriter/director Brooks Branch
Where: Broadway Centre Cinemas, 111 E. 300 South
When: May 11, 7:30 p.m.
How much: $25 (includes Salt Lake Film Center membership)
Phone: 801-746-7000
Web: www.slcfilmcenter.org or www.saltlakefilmsociety.org
e-mail: jeff@desnews.com