CONWAY — Table at Luigi’s, a feature film by the University of Central Arkansas’ Digital Filmmaking program that premiered in April, was honored as the Best in Show at the Indie Fest in La Jolla, Calif.
The Indie Award goes to filmmakers who produce fresh, standout entertainment, animation and compelling documentaries.
Table at Luigi’s is a modern-day fairy tale about David, “Chef” to his friends, who creates “living dreams” for people through his cooking. That all changes for Chef the night Emily walks in and he begins to realize that the dreams he’s been creating have locked him in his own dream world.
The film was written and directed by Joe Dull, assistant professor of digital filmmaking, and was shot in one month, July 2009. But the film has been in the works for more than a decade.
“I’ve toyed with the idea of a chef who could create people’s dreams for about 10 years,” Dull said in an interview for www.indiefest.com. “The first script was written about seven years ago while I was sick in a cabin in Idyllwild, Calif. I’d get up and write for an hour, sleep for two, then write for another hour. At the end of three days, I had a script. We first produced Luigi’s as a play in Santa Ana, Calif. Then about three years ago, we had the idea to produce a feature film as a part of our curriculum [at UCA], so I dusted off the script and spent about a year rewriting it.”
The film also utilized the talents of UCA faculty members Mike Gunter, director of photography; Scott and Shauna Meador, set and costume designers; Paul Dickinson, composer; and Chris Fritzges and Bob May, cast members. with UCA students making up the rest of the crew.
The film was shot in Conway.
“We were wonderfully fortunate that the university and city of Conway embraced what we were trying to do,” Dull said. “All of our meals for cast and crew were donated by local restaurants, and many others generously donated locations and supplies. They even blocked off and wet down their streets.
“I spent 15 years in southern California, the mecca for filmmakers, and had to move to Conway, Ark., to make a feature film. Who knew?
“The students were really the beneficiaries of this film,” Dull said. “Just watching what’s happened in our program since shooting the film, … their films are so much more organized and thought out. They really came together as a team for Luigi’s and applied what they learned with us into their own work. It’s been wonderful and amazing to watch.”
Besides the UCA premiere, Luigi’s also showed in the Little Rock Film Festival and had other screenings in Vermont and New York.
For more information, contact Dull at (501) 852-2377 or jdull@uca.edu.