Local Filmmaker Picks Puck as Shooting Location

Sean Patrowich had always dreamed of selling his screenplays and one day watching them on the big screen.

Instead of waiting for that to happen, Patrowich, 42, of Hatboro, rounded up several of his friends and fellow class of 1989 Hatboro-Horsham High School alums, cobbled together $5,100and set to work shooting scenes for a 20-minute short film. 

“At least I can say I did it,” said Patrowich, a graduate of the Art Institute of Philadelphia. “It might not be Academy Award winning.” 

And the reason for dusting off his drawer-full of screenplays, scouting local locations to film and assembling an all-volunteer cast? His son.

Inspired to run, begin martial arts and stay in shape following his son Sebastian’s birth almost three years ago, Patrowich said he wanted to do something else with his son in mind: Make his dream a reality. 

“I did it,” Patrowich said. “I want him to see that. Don’t give up.”

Patrowich, who works in his day job producing educational videos and online learning for Abington Memorial Hospital, has worked around his and his six member cast’s schedule shooting at various locations, including Keswick Coffee in Glenside and Puck in Doylestown. The last filming locale will be a home in Horsham sometime in July, the writer/producer/director told Patch. 

The soon-to-be-finished end product, “Wasted Lives Chapter II,”is a horror/thriller starring Hatboro-Horsham alum Libby Felten as Elizabeth Galloway, an unhappily married woman who tries to get away with murder twice.

Felten, who jokes that her last acting stint was “The Jungle Book” in fourth-grade, said she couldn’t say no to the role. 

“I got the opportunity to kill my ex-husband legally,” the recently divorced Felten said. "(Divorcees) need a good after story.”

During a filming at Puck, where the movie’s premiere is slated for Sept. 7, Felten said she hopes to use her role as a stepping stone for more acting. 

“I don’t know that I have any talent whatsoever,” Felten said. “I wing it. I absolutely wing everything. We just kind of feed off each other.”

Felten’s 11-year-old daughter, Isabella is in the movie, as is Jenn Matton’s daughter of the same name and age. Felten acknowledges that the similarities are a bit “eerie.”

But, what’s a psychological thriller without at least some of that component? 

For Matton, the film’s director of photography, working on “Wasted Lives” is a bit of a family affair as her son Christopher, 15, is doing the actors’ makeup and her husband, a software engineer, has helped on that end.

Matton works with Patrowich at Abington and the two met after she won a video contest. Like Patrowich, Matton works behind the camera and helps with the direction of actors. 

“I haven’t done much of the editing,” Matton said. “What I’ve seen Sean put together so far I’m so impressed by.”

For Melany Klohoker (or Melany White during her Hatboro-Horsham days), having a relatable character helped ease her into what would be her first acting role.

“She’s a therapist, but she’s got a wild side,” Klohoker said of her character. “(Sean) knows my personality.”

While Klohoker, of Hatboro–an artist and freelance photographer by trade–said she’s having fun, filming came with its own obstacles.

“I had a full-on panic attack the first time,” Klohoker said. “The lights were all on me. Every line that I had studied, I forgot instantly.”

Her daughter, Katie, who is also in the movie, helped calm her down. Now, as those lights shine on her, Klohoker said she just imagines it’s her and Felten and she’s able to overcome her fear.

Patrowich said the dedication from all involved is more than he had ever imagined.

“They did better than I thought or could have ever experienced,” Patrowich said, adding that he’s told the cast and crew, “ ‘If this ever goes anywhere I’m taking you guys with me.’ ”

From here, Patrowich sees other opportunities, including contest submissions like the Philadelphia Terror Festival, as well asSundance Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival.