MEEKER | Meeker is headed for the silver screen, thanks to two independent filmmakers who came to visit and fell in love with the town. Tanner Kalina and Joe Duca are living out their childhood dreams of making movies. Kalina, originally from Texas, has been working in the industry for a while, last seen in Richard Linklater’s “Everybody Wants Some.”
“The Daffy” is Kalina’s brainchild, and it’s the first feature film he and his writing partner/producer Marshall Kistner are producing by themselves. Kalina will also be the lead actor in the film. Duca is originally from Virginia. “The Daffy” is his second independent feature.
“We stumbled on Meeker almost by accident. We were outside of town on a location scout and had to get to Sunday Mass, so we stopped by Holy Family. After church we were invited to donuts and coffee and just fell in love with the people and the place. We spent the whole afternoon in town, scoping out the Meeker Hotel and the Meeker Cafe. By the end of the day I was determined to shoot a scene or two in town,” Duca wrote via email.
The film is the story of a young couple who spend a weekend at a family cabin at Christmas, only to find they aren’t “entirely on the same page” with each other.
“It’ll be in the vein of a vintage Woody Allen film,” Kalina wrote.
The duo plans to film Dec. 10 and Dec. 17 in Meeker and are looking for extras, a business who will let them shoot a scene in their establishment, an old but functional bicycle and someone who would be willing to let them film a night scene in their driveway.
Anyone interested in volunteering or donating their time and talents can email producer Marshall Kistner at [email protected].