As the lights dimmed in the theater, an audience of friends and family eagerly awaited to view the work of Fresno State students on the big screen.

“Chase”, a short film directed by Jacob Alvarado, follows a young man reconnecting with his father. It was shown April 26 at Maya Cinema Fresno 16.

As the film progresses, the audience learns more about the issues between the two characters through Chase’s own flashbacks and interactions with his sister and friend. Chase and his father finally meet at the climax, and the complex feelings of both pain and love collide during the meeting.

The film’s storyline is influenced by real experiences. Inspired by what a friend had told him, Nick Ryan, one of the writers of “Chase,” decided to begin a story focusing on the disturbance that infidelity between parents has on family life. From there, Ryan and other friends worked on the side project that became “Chase.”

“This is the first time I’ve ever directed a film, [and it’s] a lot of firsts for a lot of us,” Alvarado said. “As a director, I was just trying to be a mediator really, just talking to the director of photography, talking to my assistant director, talking to the sound guy, just trying to be the middle man between everyone to make sure that we got the shots that we needed.”

The film was a long project for those involved and was made with the help of friends of the students involved. For some of the actors, it was their first time in an acting role. For other students like Alvarado, it was their final project before they graduate from Fresno State.

“I know the writer personally. He invited me, and you could definitely see the detail and [that] he’s invested in this,” said Zack Scott, a fourth-year kinesiology major.

The short film gave students a different feel while watching the project, since they know the creators.

“I think what was so exciting was Chad [Saechao] who [was the director of photography] and he’s one of my best friends and he’s my roommate, to see something that he worked on over the year really come to life and to be shown [at Maya Cinemas],” Craig Talbot, a third-year mass communication and journalism major, said.

Through the film’s emotional topic, the crew hopes to be able to affect audiences in some way.
“[Film] is a really beautiful medium, and I think if we can tell stories that affect people in any way, shape or form, then I think we’ve done our job,” Saechao said.