Two fanboys hang out in a brightly decorated comic shop, debating the merits of Spiderman’s choices and the chance to do something different. Their hangout spot is innocuous and random enough, and apparently, that is exactly why a mysterious gunman chooses the comic shop, of all places, to hold up. But there is a reason for the randomness, and the rest of the short film “Deuce” is a flashback showing how the characters’ choices from three days earlier lead to the shootout scene.

Calvary Chapel is an unusual location to premiere a film, but on Saturday evening, it was converted into what may as well have been an extension of a comic shop set. The pews were full when the show began and a DJ played electronic music outside with a backdrop of bright neon lights the casually dressed audience mingled around snacks before and after the film.

With Biola’s growing mass communications department, it’s not uncommon to see students running around with cameras to complete their latest class assignment or taking the initiative to create their latest personal project. But once a semester, the cinema and media arts department chooses a script to produce as a class project. Shot over interterm and summer, book-ended by months of pre-production and post-production, these projects become the Biola Film.

“It was a big learning experience,” said writer-director Shelbey “Wash” Hunt, a junior. “I’ve never had to take charge of so many people before.”

Hunt said that after watching “Pulp Fiction” and “Reservoir Dogs,” he wanted to write a “Tarantino-ish” scene. He wrote the short script and submitted it to the film department, which chose it for the annual contest.

“Because I wrote it,” said Hunt, “I really wanted to direct it, too.”

A number of innovations went into the production of the film, as discussed at the Q-and-A session following the screening. The crew utilized a car mount that no other Biola student had tried before. Artistically rendered freeze frames by senior film student David Sidebotham droves home the comic theme, and when the main characters are driving, the Turtles’ 1967 song “Happy Together” plays on the car radio.

Casey Manley, a junior film student, also took on a high learning curve. Used to other aspects of film production, he volunteered for the producer position – his first experience in this role.

“I learned so much,” he said. “It was a blast.”

A large part of Manley’s task was getting the rights to the song. Once they work out the rest of the legal hurdles, they plan to send it to film festivals. But for now, these cinema students are glad for the support they have on campus.

“If you hear there’s a Biola film premiere,” said Hunt, “go see it.”