When do you give up on what you want to do, and turn to what is profitable and popular? At what point are dreams of art and integrity laid to rest at the altar of commercial whoredom? That is the question posed in the new film Bestsellers, by Tacoma filmmaker Rick Gratzer.

Hang on. Back up. Tacoma filmmaker? Tacoma has filmmakers? Real filmmakers, who spend more than 72 hours on a project? Certainly Tacoma likes movies. It supports an independent video store, an independent movie theater, and a film festival. But people getting out there and making movies? Well, kind of.

"Set in Tacoma, filmed in Tacoma, written in Tacoma. The only thing not from Tacoma were any of the actors," says Gratzer.

"There are positives and negatives to filming a movie in Tacoma. Obviously one of the negatives is that no one in Tacoma makes movies, so you're kind of at a lack for, you know, help," he continues. "There was the camera person, there was the boom mike person, and there was me."

Filming in Tacoma has its advantages, of course. Without a particularly active film community, there is still novelty to businesses. "If you go in and say ‘Can we film a scene here?' - they go ‘What? I guess that'll be an unusual day.' In L.A., the cost of filming in one location for one night was three times our entire budget."

Casting for Bestsellers took place at Tacoma Little Theatre, although remarkably few Tacoma actors turned out. "Everyone we liked turned out to be from Seattle," says Gratzer. "And now they've all moved to L.A. anyway."

Lacking additional crew, Gratzer turned to friends and family, including local rock group Sordid Sentinels, who contributed two songs from their forthcoming EP to the soundtrack. Sordid Sentinels lead singer, Riley Gratzer - Rick's brother - also has a small role in the film.

This is not the first feature script Gratzer has turned out, nor the last, but it required a different approach. "When I sat down to write it ... I decided I really wanted to actually make a movie, so I couldn't write something that was going to cost more than nothing."

Thus, the kind of film that can only get made in a city like Tacoma. Someplace where the actors aren't turning pro - they're just excited to be in a movie. Someplace where a business like King's Books won't just permit you access, but give you help. "The film includes a book signing, and when we showed up they had already set up the chairs and everything," Gratzer tells me. "I think we could have told them we want to stage a murder in the back corner and they would have said ‘Alright,' and thrown up the tarps to cover the books."

After two years - off and on - of writing, filming and editing, Bestsellers will make its debut at the Grand Cinema on Tuesday, March 16, at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are available at The Grand Cinema Web site.

LINK: Bestsellers synopsis