Indie-movie romance gets special one-night showing in Sisters

Perfect for leftover Valentine's Day sentimentality, a special showing of "Lovely, Still," a heartwarming fable starring Academy Award-winning actors Martin Landau and Ellen Burstyn, plays one night only at Sisters Movie House, Thursday, February 17.

The screening is in association with Bendfilm and Monterey Media, and celebrates the innovative voice of independent cinema. This fairy-tale romance was directed by 26-year-old Omaha native Nik Fackler, from an original screenplay he wrote when he was just 17. This was his debut feature film and the road to its completion is one that Tinseltown dreams are made of.

Fackler, a fixture in the Omaha music scene, started shooting videos for local bands like Bright Eyes, Cursive, and The Elected, quickly compiling an impressive promo reel that drew the attention of agents at the William Morris Agency in Los Angeles. When asked if he had any screenplays, Fackler sent them his December romance script he'd been working on and the response was instantaneous.

"They called one morning and said Martin Landau wanted to meet me," recalled Fackler. "I was really nervous about my age at first but put an airline ticket on a credit card, flew out to L.A. and told myself I wasn't going to leave Martin's side until he agreed to do the film. I brought along a gift I made for him, a small painting of the main character I'd put in a shadowbox frame. He was so nice, we talked for five hours about character and where the idea for the script came from. He told me I reminded him of a young Tim Burton. When we were done he got up and said he'd do it."

Of the film he said, "It's meant to be a traditional, classic Christmas film but it also contains elements of a mystery as well. It began as a simple holiday love story with a twist. I knew older classic actors don't get a lot of good roles so I figured my best chance to get it read was to write for senior actors."

"Lovely, Still" was chosen as an official selection by several top film festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival and Chicago International Film Festival, and was part of Bendfilm's lineup last year. The movie was given a limited release this fall to qualify for Oscar eligibility.

Music heard in the film comes courtesy of bands Fackler directed videos for.

"Every time I did a video I'd have the band write me a song so when the movie was finished I had all this great original music for it," he said. "It all has this lyric-based, Americana folk sound.

"When Martin asked who I saw as the female lead, I told him Ellen Burstyn and he said OK, let's call her. Burstyn's comment was 'What the hell are we going to do in Nebraska for six weeks?' So they came out to Omaha and we filmed it and had an amazing time," Fackler said.

"Lovely, Still" screens on Thursday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10. For information visit http://www.sistersmoviehouse.com.