Time for your CoPay

Have you ever been frustrated when you have to make an emergency stop at the doctor’s office?

That’s what happens in the film “CoPay” by Paul Berge of Butter Cow Films in Indianola.

“CoPay” focuses on a middle-aged man named Bosworth who discovers he has kidney stones and has to deal with inept hospital doctors and medical staff. The scenes were shot in Clarke County.

“Essentially, (it’s) a sitcom, where each week poor Bosworth sets out for a normal day and something gets in his way. It won’t be medical each time, don’t worry about that,” said Berge during a private screening of the film Nov. 19 at the Lyric Theater.

During the private screening, three short films and a theatrical trailer were shown.

What was shown

Berge said the first film was a public-service announcement commissioned by the Iowa Aviation Promotion Group to get people interested in aviation. It was shot in Boone. More information is available at the website www.abovetheordinary.org.

The second film was a short film on Iowa Aviation Museum and Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame in Greenfield.

Next shown was a theatrical trailer for a short film by Brad Smyser of Des Moines called “The Wake-Up Call.” Smyser coproduces Berge’s films. “The Wake-Up Call” stars Liz Klinge, a morning anchor for KCCI Channel 8 news of Des Moines.

The finale of the private screening was “CoPay.” Berge said part of the purpose of making the film was educational. The film was also shot in association with Infinipix. It is a pilot for a web series titled “Bosworth.”

Meet Bosworth

The actor Greg Anderson starred in the film in the title role.

After the film was shown, Anderson was asked if he’d ever had a kidney stone. His answer was no.

“I had several people say, ‘Have you had a kidney stone?’ I said, ‘No.’ They said, ‘Well, oh no, you won’t be able to do this,’” he said.

Anderson added, he was nervous about the project because he wanted to “nail it.”

The next episode for “Bosworth” will be shot in the spring, and the third will be shot in the summer.

Berge said “CoPay” will be put on Vimeo, which is similar to YouTube. YouTube is a video-sharing website.

Wild Rose

“CoPay” was shown in the Wild Rose Independent Film Festival in Des Moines. The film received the Best Iowa Short Film award. It also received awards for Anderson’s performance and screenplay.

“The main thing about Wild Rose is, you get it up there on the screen, people see it, you meet other filmmakers,” Berge said.

The next film festival for “CoPay” will be in the spring at the Snake Alley Film Festival in Burlington.

“Our main thrust with ‘Co-Pay’ is to get it on Vimeo, get the package together and get out raising money through whatever sources we can,” Berge said.

Butter Cow Films is always looking for help when making films, Berge said.

Clarke County

When asked why he chose to shoot in Clarke County, Berge’s first answer was it’s close to where he lives in Indianola.

“But, mostly because I’ve known the Kimballs (Dr. Jim and Mary Ellen) for a long time, and when we started talking about these things, what they’ve done with the arts council and other projects around here — when you make a film, it takes a huge number of people,” Berge said.

He added, when they were in Osceola to film “Trying to Quit” in 2012, there was a huge number of local volunteers. Even Osceola Police Chief Marty Duffus helped out.

“You’ve got a lot of good scenery around here,” Berge said. “You’ve got countryside. You’ve got railroads. You’ve got interstate. You’ve got an airport. You’ve got a lot of good stuff around here we can use to make movies.”