Huntington News

Issue date: 12/6/06 Section: The Inside

Media Credit: Photo courtesy/Nathan Larson From left to right: crew members Alissa Fodor and Ruben Isagulov, actor Shane Delaney, and director Daniel Faneuf rehearse dialogue on set for a classroom scene.

Few would argue that filming a motion picture is an easy process, but for several Boston-area college students, it became one of the most challenging experiences thus far in their lives.

The movie, titled "A Work of Fiction," opens tonight at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline. It follows a young writer's attempt to write a murder novel that will satisfy his demanding publisher. Fanuef said the character reflects the identity struggles students face during college.

"Because the plot and the theme involve one's transition in defining themselves, it's something that college students are familiar with," he said. "That's what our character does, but just in a very different way. It's about establishing who you are."

Northeastern alumnus Nathan Larson and Dan Fanuef, a senior government major at Suffolk University, met two summers ago to discuss working together on a movie project. Without financial backing and equipment from their respective schools, they pooled their resources and, with a meager budget of $5,500, an amount which mostly came from their own pockets, they began shooting.

"That was the most difficult thing we had to work against," Larson said. "No one knew us, no one wanted to give us access to equipment, we just wanted someone to give us a shot, we wanted to prove ourselves, but even without others' help, we still have come so far."

Shot with digital film, every aspect of the movie was student-crafted, from the production duties to the casting to the film's soundtrack. The project involved students from Northeastern, Boston University, Suffolk University, Berklee College and Emerson College, among others.

Although Fanuef has prior experience performing with the Suffolk improvisational comedy troupe, "Seriously Bent," being on the set of "A Work of Fiction" put him in the director's chair for the first time. His inexperience with directorial duties was the most challenging aspect of filming, he said.

"I was so impressed by the company I was with," he said. "They were probably the most hardworking and dedicated students I've ever seen in my life, the most difficult thing was just keeping up, trying to fully embrace the status of director among people who were so talented."

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