Movie makes hometown debut

Memories came flooding back Thursday afternoon as Liz Eisenbraun sifted through photographs.

Eisenbraun, film liaison for the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce, said the pictures were taken when the movie “Believe in Me” was being filmed in the area.

The walk down memory lane was prompted by the news the independent film is due to be released in theaters in March.

Filmed locally in October 2004, “Believe in Me” will make its big screen debut in several states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa and Oklahoma.

According to producer John Manulis, the movie will hit Clovis theaters in April with a special VIP sneak preview.

“They (movie officials) want to do something special in Clovis,” Eisenbraun said, “because of all the help we gave them.”

Eisenbraun said she is working with the movie’s promoters to plan the event.

The movie is about an Oklahoma high school girls basketball coach in the mid-1960s. It is based on a true story of a coach’s dream to take a rural high school girls basketball team to the top.

The film stars Bruce Dern, Jeffrey Donovan, Samantha Mathis and Bob Guntun, according to http://www.believeinmemovie.com.

The championship game of “Believe In Me” was filmed at Rock Staubus Gymnasium, and other scenes were shot at various locations throughout the Clovis and Portales area. Many residents were extras in the movie, and some locals even landed small parts.

“It’s (movie release) exciting,” Eisenbraun said, “and fabulous.”