Unconscious is a feature length film shot in Flagstaff, starring actors from Flagstaff and written and directed by a guy from Flagstaff.
A project four years in the making, Unconscious was written and directed by local filmmaker Stephen Joel Root, who’s been serving the community of Flagstaff as a local television photojournailist since 2006. The film will have its world premiere at the Orpheum Theater in Flagstaff on February 24th and then will be shown for four days at Theatrikos Theatre Company in Flagstaff starting March 1st through the 4th.
Unconscious is a comedy about Raymond Hopajoki, A.K.A. Hop, (Eric Schultz) who is a blue collar guy with big dreams of becoming a novelist. The only problem is, of course, he’s got nothing to write about. After an accident where a typewriter falls on his head, Hop loses six months of his memory – when he wakes up he finds out that during the six month period he can’t remember he wrote a best selling novel – and hilarity ensues.
Starring an all local cast of about 30 people including Eric Schultz, Matt Wilson, Sydney Tolchinsky, Laura Burt, Kenlynn Shields, Tony Sutera, Will McDonald, Donovan Wood, Randi Klein and Kriss Victor. Most of the actors on screen have been performing on stage and Theatrikos in the past. Viewers will recognize many Flagstaff businesses including the Weatherford Hotel, Monte Vista, Mia’s, Flagstaff Floral, Granny’s Bar and Grill, Rendezvous and the Orpheum among others.
An award winning student filmmaker and Emmy Award-nominated television photojournalist, Unconscious has been a passion project for Stephen Joel Root spanning four years. The cast volunteered their time for the low-budget production. “This is pure community collaboration,” says Root, “I’m not sure we could’ve made a movie like this with the resources we had in any other community. Usually, it just took a brief description of the movie and people opened their doors to let us film. Other than about ten seconds of the film which was shot at the Yavapai County Jail, the movie was shot entirely in Flagstaff.
World Premiere – Orpheum Theatre, Flagstaff, February 24th 8pm, buy tickets at the door or wherever Orpheum tickets are sold.
4 days of screenings – Dorris Harper White Theatre, Flagstaff, March 1st-7pm, 2nd-7pm, 3rd-7pm, 4th-2pm, tickets available at the door and at www.theatrikos.com
For more information or to see the trailer go to www.flagfilm.com or contact Stephen. Preview DVD’s of the entire movie can also be made available for members of the press.
