Penn State Mont Alto Film Project draws from campus talent for 'Ghosting'

Screening set for Jan. 10 at Chambersburg's Capitol Theatre
Ghosting

The Mont Alto Film Project filmed at the Lincoln Diner in Gettysburg. Kevin Boon, in the blue shirt, worked with Penn State students including, Joey Fenice, key grip; Christopher Willman-Bunge, script supervisor; and Chad Dewing, sound recordist; and alumnus Edwin Koester, director of photography.

Credit: Third Child Productions

Third Child Productions will premiere the supernatural thriller “Ghosting,” a Penn State Mont Alto Film Project at 7 p.m. Jan. 10 at The Capitol Theatre in Chambersburg. 

The movie is about a college student who sees the image of a mysterious man in photographs taken by different people in small towns all over the country. When he learns that no one else can see the man, he fears he has inherited his mother's schizophrenia and sets out to reclaim his sanity by unraveling the supernatural mystery. Instead of being led out of darkness, his quest takes him “into a black labyrinth of true evil,” according to a synopsis at www.ghostingmovie.com.

The screening is in advance of the 2015 film festival circuit and allows individuals who live in the area — where the movie was filmed — the opportunity to see it first, before it hits the circuit. “Ghosting” was filmed in a variety of locations, including the Penn State Mont Alto campus, at the Ragged Edge Coffee House and at Lincoln Diner in Gettysburg as well as the towns of Fairfield and Littlestown, and Taneytown, Maryland.

Begun in 2009, The Mont Alto Film Project is the brainchild of Penn State Mont Alto English professor Kevin Boon. It is a two-year filmmaking practicum in micro-budget filmmaking, based at the Mont Alto campus and run by Third Child Productions, which includes Penn State students, industry professionals and professional actors. “Ghosting” is the second production. The first project resulted in the award-winning film “Two Days Back.”

Boon originally conceived the project “as a way to give students real-world experience and help build relationships with local communities,” he said. “I think we’ve achieved that.”

Indeed, “Ghosting” involved a wide variety of organizations and individuals in its development. Townships, businesses and other educational institutions cooperated with the filmmakers in its making. Undergraduate students, Penn State graduates and volunteers from the local area worked behind the cameras. Professional actors came from south-central Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

“Two Days Back” also premiered at the Capitol Theatre in 2011. It received international distribution, was shown in Pennsylvania and Maryland theaters, and won Best Feature for SciFi/Horror at the Barebones International Film Festival in 2012. A number of students who participated in that project have gone on to work in the film industry for entertainment leaders such as HBO and Conan O’Brien.

Boon has high expectations for the VIP screening of “Ghosting” and encourages local movie fans, Penn State alumni and advocates for the creative arts to come out Jan. 10, meet the filmmakers, mingle with the cast and crew, and enjoy an evening of locally grown cinema. Tickets can be purchased by calling 717-263-0202 or going online.

For more information about the movie go here. To contact Boon, email him at [email protected] or contact Debra Collins, director of public relations and marketing, at 717-749-6112 or [email protected].