'Fire Lily'

"Fire Lily" is the title of a locally produced movie being filmed at various locations in Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois. It's a coming-of-age story. Like April Moretti, the central character, the fire lily can look like a weed but is gorgeous in bloom.

The screenplay has been adapted from a play by Dr. Kenn Stilson, chairman of the Department of Theater and Dance at Southeast Missouri State University, and is based in part on his own Malden, Mo., upbringing.

Stilson also is directing. He and producer Victor Kantchev, a local artist/photographer/filmmaker, have assembled an array of talented actors, actresses and crew members. Some were brought in, and others were recruited locally. The film is providing the kind of experience young actors and actresses dream of.

About two weeks of filming remain for the production. Once it's edited, the filmmakers plan to enter "Fire Lily" in a variety of festivals for independent films.

This is how "Napoleon Dynamite" started.

Whether "Fire Lily" will achieve commercial success is still to be determined. But the filmmaking is an exciting addition to the community fabric.