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A crew and cast of 120-plus have settled in the streets of Elgin for a 20-day-long independent film shoot, hiring Texas locals and reaching out to Elginites for volunteer extras.
Growing pains is a coming of age story, written and directed by Ellen Rodnianski, focusing on a young girl dealing with the struggles of early motherhood, according to the internationally raised filmmaker. The feature- length presentation is a love story at its core, she said, showcasing a teen pregnancy alongside the tender and pure nature of young romance.
“It’s important to me for it to be relatable on both a micro and macro level,” said Rodnianski. “There’s universality in specificity.”
The movie started as a short film Rodnianski directed in Russia, 2019. She later reached out to her University of Southern California classmates Annika Dawson and Lucas Ford to go about producing a fulllength version of her work.
The three knew immediately they wanted to film in Texas because of its unique culture, but did some small town shopping beforehand, they said. Upon touring Elgin, Rodnianski could tell this was where she wanted to set her project.
The name of the city does not change for the film, only some locations have fictional names.
“The streets have character,” said Ford.
Rodnianski’s team is dedicated to being a part of the community and not just take advantage of Elgin’s locale. Their LLC joined the chamber of commerce, and they hope to boost the local economy a bit by including locals in the production, Ford said.
“We’re guests here,” added Dawson.
Most of the cast has been hired locally, and they are now calling upon the Elgin community to help fill slots for extras.
The biggest day for volunteer help comes Aug. 30, where a church fair scene requires fair-goers and vendors to fill the background. There are no specificities of age or appearance for the shoot.
Food and snacks will be provided with a 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. shoot window.
Other days for extras include Aug. 24, needing 10 individuals from 2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Aug. 25, requiring four teenagers from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. and Aug. 29 with three parkgoers and five basketball teens from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Anyone joining will need to sign an appearance release form and should be dressed in normal, weather-appropriate attire.
Those interested in being a part of the production are asked to reach out to [email protected] for more info.
