For six days this summer, Bellevue College became a Hollywood set of sorts, and its students joined the ranks of professionals to film an innovative new movie.
Cameras, production crew members and actors filled main campus to film “Pendulum,” a film about a disgraced journalist who teams up with a reluctant veteran detective to investigate the death of a young girl. The script is full of murder, politics and intrigue, bringing to mind HBO’s hit miniseries “True Detective”, said Judith Lindsay-Kiama, a Bellevue College film student and one of the movie’s co-producers.
The majority of the more than 50 crew members were Bellevue College Digital Media Arts and Advanced Track video students and alumni, and it was produced by Lindsay-Kiama and fellow alumni Robin Steel Haaseth.
The two met after doing one of the 48-hour film projects at Bellevue College, and realized that the school had the amenities to produce a professional film production. Happening upon the script for “Pendulum,” the two decided to pitch Bellevue as a location.
The movie was directed by Kahlil Silver and stars award-winning Australian actor and Bellevue-resident Paul Eenhoorn.
Originally, Eenhoorn wanted to shoot the film in Tacoma because of the city’s gritty look, but Haaseth and Lindsay-Kiama convinced him otherwise.
“Bellevue has really grown up, and I just thought it would just have a beautiful look,” said Lindsay-Kiama. “The City of Bellevue and Bellevue College rolled out the red carpet, even without prompting.”
Permits and fees were waived for the film, and the Bellevue College campus and technology resources were open to the crew. “It was truly a pleasure to work with Bellevue College students on set because they were so eager to learn and work,” Silver said in a press release. “No one ever lacked an ounce of enthusiasm during the filming of ‘Pendulum’. It was a blast to work with so many young people who represent the future of cinema.”
At the end of filming, three students received job offers from Silver: Ben Shahabi, Ellison Sheih and Titus Richard.
Haaseth and Lindsay-Kiama are continuing to work on the project and are heading to Los Angeles next week to find investors to produce either a full two-hour film or a television series. Altogether, the crew working in Bellevue this summer produced the first 20 minutes of the script as a sort of preview to produce interest and help with fundraising.
“Its pretty exciting. I don’t know how most Hollywood films are made, but I think this is a pretty innovative way to go about it,” said Haaseth.
Neither she nor Lindsay-Kiama can predict what will happen next, but Haaseth said she feels good about the project, the story and the characters and had enjoyed the experience either way.
There will be an advanced screening at Bellevue College within the coming weeks.
Allison DeAngelis: 425-453-4290; adeangelis@bellevuereporter.com
