Watkins College alumni get big-screen break

In March, Nashville-based husband-and-wife filmmaking team Spenser Fritz and Amanda Dillingham, raised more than $17,000 in a month-long Kickstarter campaign to produce their first feature-length film, “Cecil.”

Co-written by Fritz and Dillingham, “Cecil” is a family-friendly comedy about Cecil Stevens, a fourth-grader struggling with a speech impediment that prevents him from saying his own name correctly. He pronounces it “Thethil Theventh.” In an attempt to prevent social travesty, he decides to change his name to something easier: Michael Jordan.

Directed by Fritz, the film uses humor and mischief to tackle serious issues many kids face, such as bullying, self-confidence and self-acceptance.

The movie stars 10-year-old Nashville actor Sark Asadourian as Cecil. The budding young talent has appeared in short films, music videos and commercials, but this is his first major role in a feature.

“Sark walked in to audition and we were like, ‘That’s him!’ ” said Dillingham. “He was so cute and sweet.”

“And genuine,” Fritz added. “There was nobody else that even came close.”

Asadourian is joined by an exciting cast. Cecil’s parents are played by Jenna von Oy, known for her role as Six LeMeure on the NBC sitcom “Blossom,” and Jason London of Richard Linklater’s 1993 classic “Dazed and Confused.” Mike Keith, aka the “Voice of the Tennessee Titans,” plays the school’s gym teacher.

Cecil’s best friend and partner-in-crime, Abby, is played by Atlanta-based actress Christa Beth Campbell. No stranger to comedic films, Campbell recently landed roles as Amy Poehler’s younger self in the new movie “Sisters” and Will Ferrell’s daughter in “Hall Pass.”

Set in suburban Indiana in 1996, viewers can expect to see some great ’80s and ’90s ephemera: Skip-its, Trapper Keepers, Super Soakers, Creepy Crawlers, windbreakers, side-ponytails. Most of the props are Fritz’s own toys that were stored at his parents’ house.

“I think me and my sister were kind of hoarders,” he said. “Instead of getting rid of our stuff, we stuck it all in bins in my mom’s garage.”

Both Watkins College of Art, Design & Film alumni, Fritz and Dillingham have extensive backgrounds in filmmaking and have worked together on several projects.

Together for seven years and married for almost two, the couple met while Dillingham, who has an MFA in studio art, was teaching in the Community Education program at Watkins; Fritz was a student studying screenwriting and directing.

“She produced all of my films in film school,” said Fritz, who graduated in 2010. “She had so many connections.”

The couple soon started working for a company that made faith-based feature films. “We started working our way up the ladder there,” said Fritz. “I started as script supervisor, and she started as art director.”

Now the couple runs their own production company, Behind the Curtain Media.

It took four years and several re-writes to get “Cecil” into production.

“We started really searching for funding for it about two years ago, though we had a few leads earlier than that,” said Fritz. “Funding is by far the toughest part. It’s all about building relationships, which takes time.”

Fritz began writing the script in late 2009 in a screenwriting class his senior year. Having written multiple short films and three other features, “Cecil” was the one that constantly drew him back in. “It was the most personal for me,” he said.

The script is autobiographical. As a kid, he had major difficulty saying “r” sounds, which made the name “Spenser Fritz” an especially challenging task. He rarely ever talked about the torment that came from it, until he started pitching the script and discussing the real message behind all the laughs.

The couple said since releasing the trailer and launching the Kickstarter campaign, several people have come forward with similar stories and to show their support for the message.

“So many people have speech impediments and have been bullied,” said Fritz, “We had no idea.”

Today’s youth faces an even rougher landscape when it comes to public teasing. “It’s hard enough as a kid,” said Dillingham, “And now there’s a social media that adds all these layers to the bullying.”

Asadourian hopes the film will help open the dialogue around the issue. “I think it will help the guidance counselors and teachers get their point across when they’re trying to talk about not bullying,” he said. “I think other kids will like it, too. At least I hope they will.”

For Fritz, comedy is first and foremost.

“At the very least, I hope people laugh a lot. Beyond that, the message is that it’s OK to be different. You’ve got to accept yourself, and roll with the punches.”

Filming for “Cecil” wrapped last week. The movie is set to be released this winter. For updates on the project and future screening, check out the “Cecil” Facebook and Kickstarter pages.