WELCH, W.Va. — A screening for a post-apocalyptic film shot mostly in New Zealand but with sequences in Welch will be shown at a screening Tuesday night.
“Z for Zachariah” is based on a science fiction novel of the same name by Robert C. O’Brien. Director of West Virginia Film Office said the director always wanted to film in McDowell County.
“The director Craig Zogel actually stayed in Williamson for several months in 2009 for a different project,” she said. “He actually fell in love with the area.”
Haynes said that the dreary setting of winter in West Virginia in March made for the perfect location to film the post-apocalyptic survival tale.
“It was shot in March 2014. They needed the desolate look with no leaves on the trees. No modern looks or modern facilities,” Haynes explained. “Mayor (Reba) Honaker was so cooperative and thrilled to have this done in her town.”
Haynes explained why it was so important to get a national screening in Welch.
“Whenever something has filmed in the state we always try to get some sort of local screening in advance of the national release,” she said. “In this case we learned that it was going to be a limited release anyway. It’s probably not going to hit any West Virginia theaters so we went hard at it to get a local screening.”
The screening, which is at 5:30 p.m. at Marquee Cinemas on 60 McDowell Street , will be by invitation, but some tickets will also be available for the general public through giveaways by media outlets.
The film, which is being distributed by Roadside Attractions, will also be available on iTunes and Video-On-Demand Tuesday.