Movie shot in Sylvania set for Dec. showings

A scene filmed in Bogota, Colombia for 'The Society.'

Mantis and Moon

A scene filmed in Bogota, Colombia for 'The Society.'

For Sylvania’s first film, it’s nearly a wrap.

After three years of filming mostly in Bogota, Colombia and some in Sylvania, The Society, directed by local filmmaker Cap Averill II, concluded filming last year and is in the midst of post-production.

The romance/legal drama, a $250,000 independent project of Mr. Averill’s company Mantis and Moon Productions and shot with partner Zachary Gordon, is set for release in about December.

“This is the part where we’re finished and taking a step back to look at the finished product,” said the Sylvania resident, who also runs a Toledo investment firm. “We’re at the fun part, with all the hard work behind us.”

Aside from planning the cast party to be held in the upcoming months, Mr. Averill said, the next tasks for his team include devising a way to smoothly juxtapose the scenes in Bogota with those shot in Sylvania. Mr. Averill, along with musicians from the Toledo School of the Arts, has begun work on the soundtrack, comprised of both American and traditional Colombian themes.

Mr. Averill, who attended school in Sylvania, said his personal ties to the city and its Midwestern feel made the city a natural choice. He praised Sylvania as an easy place to work, and cited old friends, the police, and Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce for enabling the project to take place.

About 150 to 200 people worked on the film, not including extras, at least 15 of whom were from Sylvania. Some filming was done in Sylvania, including at the Wingate Hotel.

Filmmaker Cap Averill II, center in suspenders, is shown at a 2012 cast party in Sylvania for his latest movie. Also shown are, from left, Laura Glover, Rae Glover, 10, and Pat Nowak.

Mr. Averill said the initial production of the movie started in 2006, he had a casting call in Sylvania in 2011, and he began filming in Bogota in 2012.

Unsure of whether the story would be more a romance or a legal drama, Mr. Averill chose to film it as both, shooting scenes from both perspectives to give himself room to experiment. While reviewing the shots, he decided the plot worked best as a mix of both styles.

The movie is set in the 1970s and, Mr. Averill previously said, is about two lovers who struggle with social, cultural, and theological disagreements. .

The film industry tends to reinforce negative stereotypes of Colombia as a dark haven for drug trafficking and other illicit behavior, Mr. Averill said, which he hopes his film can help to overturn.

“In our movie, the typical machine guns and cocaine will be conspicuous by their absence,” he said. “We’re showing the country as it is, not as how it’s portrayed by Hollywood.”

The film represents a number of firsts for Mr. Averill, he said, including his first motion picture since founding Mantis and Moon ion Toledo and the first to be shot in ultra-high definition. Following its release, he hopes to submit it to independent festivals.

Other projects for Mantis and Moon, he said, have included the nationally acclaimed Thunder documentaries. Thunder on the Mountain, one of three in the nature-focused series, was recently selected by the National Education Television Association for countrywide PBS stations.

Although The Society is fictional, Mr. Averill said, the romance is based on how he and his Colombian wife met. His “secret intention,” he said, is for the film to be a lasting record of their relationship for his son.

“He’s just three, but one day I have that to look forward to,” he said.