The small film crew used only a few cameras and natural light to capture actors walking across campus. The cameras rolled for several hours in an attempt to capture a single sequence of footage.
Northrop Mall became a sound stage for a few hours on Monday afternoon as filming for the movie “With or Without You,” a dark romantic comedy, moved to campus for a one-day shoot. More filming at the University is expected in May.
The film is the first full-length feature for Wendell John Andersson, a graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design who wrote and is directing the film. Andersson, along with much of the filming crew, also attended the University.
The movie, which is expected to cost just a little less than $1 million, focuses on how Alex (Kristoffer Winters) and Zoe (Marissa Ryan), who have an affair despite having nothing in common, deal with her pregnancy after she returns to her former boyfriend. The film is expected to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival early next year.
Andersson and the script have already received two Sundance Institute Fellowships for screenwriting and directing.
The University campus mall area, where the crew was shooting, will be used for a scene in the movie where Alex is shown walking on a college campus.
When deciding where to film this scene, location manager Anne Healy, who has worked at the University for several feature films, said the University was an obvious choice.
“There is nowhere you can go and shoot where there is a sea of people like the mall area here,” she said. “This is just such a beautiful campus.”
Scenes might also be shot along Washington Avenue and in the physics building observatory in May.
Earlier this year, the crew shot an alternative club scene in downtown St. Paul. A call for extras brought a crowd of about 60 people who were later used in the scene.
Film officials said they are still looking for extras in the movie. Anyone who is interested can call the Minnesota Film Board at 333-0436.