South Suburban Native Releases First Film To Premier At Theater

ORLAND PARK, IL — A south suburban resident used quarantine time to shoot and produce his longest film yet which was set to premier at an Orland Park theater. The Frankfort native said the film's Illinois showing was cancelled due to a rise in COVID-19 cases, but he now hopes to submit the work to film festivals.

Matthew Dunlap, a senior at the University of Kentucky, made "Burning in Trial" over the span of eight months. Dunlap told Patch the entire project was done as a way for him to challenge himself and take advantage of camera equipment he had access to due to a summer internship.

"It's kind of a passion project," Dunlap said. "I tend to surround myself with friends and people who also want to make films so I had no shortage of help."

About 20 - 25 friends and volunteers showed up to aid Dunlap in acting, filming and prepping the short movie, a process completely done within one long weekend at a cabin in Stanton, Kentucky.

According to Dunlap, there was no running water or electricity at the scene, which made it the perfect place to set "Burning in Trial." The 27-minute film is about two people who are stuck in purgatory and must survive the brutal outdoors while slowly losing their memories from their previous lives.

"I'm not sure how we came up with it," Dunlap said. "Me and a friend slowly developed the script over a few months."

Both students met over Zoom to talk about the possibility of filming the movie and began writing as soon as they resumed in-person classes at the university.

The film was originally set to premier at Marcus Orland Park Cinema but was cancelled due to a mix of COVID-19 concerns and technical issues with screening the project. While Dunlap was upset at first to not show the film on the big screen, he said it could be a good thing as many film festivals prefer film applicants to keep their work more exclusive.

Of the process, the student said editing the film was the hardest part. It took about five months and was finished as recently as December. Dunlap said the extra time allotted due to COVID-19 rescheduling gave him more hours to focus on his work.

On Dec. 3, Dunlap got to premier the film to a small group of family and friends at a theater in Kentucky, but didn't take all the glory for himself.

"I'm actually not in the movie," he said. "I did film myself in one scene but I cut it out in editing."

As far as what's next for the media studies and marketing double major, Dunlap said he can rest easy knowing he's made something he can show off to potential employers.

"I wanted to be proud of something I made during my time," he said. "That's why I did it, this is the thing I made."

Watch the trailer for "Burning in Trial" here.