CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS New York City, top, and Sand Lake just east of Marshalltown, bottom, are two of the filming locations for the latest movie by Jude Rawlins, “Mania,” which is premiering in Brooklyn today.

Marshalltown-based Bella Luna Productions, a small, independent film company, is about to release its latest film “Mania.” The flick will premiere at 7 p.m. tonight at the Vino Theatre, 274 Morgan Avenue in Brooklyn, N.Y., and at a later date in Marshalltown.

It was shot in a house in Laurel, at various places in Marshalltown and in New York City by writer/director Jude Rawlins, based on an original story by Rawlins and Laura Deeley.

Rawlins’ prior film, “Dream Time,” was shot almost entirely in Marshalltown and premiered at the Orpheum Theater in September 2023. For this work, Rawlins won the Alfred Hitchcock Awards for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the Frida Kahlo Festival in Paris in June 2023.

His 2022 motion picture “Little Johnny Jewel” was also made in Marshalltown. He won the 2022 Jean-Luc Godard award for directing that film.

“Mania” follows Dandy Fleming as she recovers from her sister’s suicide and becomes infatuated with psychiatrist Harris Bolger, whom she marries, as he promises her a fresh start in Iowa away from her life in New York and her overbearing mother Nora.

“It’s an exploration of narcissism and codependency,” Rawlins said. “The lead character is what we call the ‘exploding doormat’ codependent. There’s only so much she’ll take and then she’ll fight back in quite excessive ways.”

He added that the film also touches on evil and gaslighting.

“People do what’s in their nature and some people are screwed up in that way,” he said. “One of the reasons I wanted to make the film in the first place was because I wanted to explore that and also, to some extent, educate people about narcissism. It’s a genuine public health threat.”

It stars Avery Knudson as Dandy Fleming, Rob Merritt as Harris Bolger, Patricia O’Neil as Nora Fleming, Mike Provenzano as Norris Fleming, Amy Van Holland as Dr. Lisa Barrett, Rebecca Haroldson as Det. Shaw Taylor, Cheyenne Goode as Ariel Fleming and Tom Mooney as Rev. Sweeney.

Some of the films that inspired the manuscript include:

• Gaslight (1940)

Mississippi Mermaid (1969)

• Opening Night (1977)

• Bunny Lake is Missing (1965)

• Repulsion (1965)

• The French Connection (1971)

• Stalker (1979)

• Possession (1981)

• White of the Eye (1987)

• The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Rawlins wrote the original screenplay in 2014 while he was living in London. He was inspired to rework the script to set the story in America after working with Iowa actors Knudson and Merritt in “Little Johnny Jewel.”

“I started location scouting in 2022 and went to film in New York at the end of October 2022, then filmed in Iowa in summer 2023,” he said. “We wrapped filming ‘Mania’ at the end of July 2023.”

The Vino Theatre was selected for the film’s debut because of its proximity to where some scenes were filmed.

“[The people at the theater] seemed like really good people, not in it for the money, but in it for the art,” he said. “We’re not charging for tickets. It’s free. We want to show the film there as much as we want to in Iowa.”

Rawlins first became interested in Marshalltown through his love of Jean Seberg and decided to stay in the area.

“Iowa is not a flyover state to me. I’ve made my home here. I don’t mind talking about all the things that are good about it. When you do that, it helps people see the potential,” he said.

Long-time Jean Seberg Festival volunteer Nancy Adams serves as a board member for Bella Luna and co-produced “Mania.” Adams took on the role of grant writer to help secure funding for the project. She noted this was the first time they’ve approached the Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation for financial support, which was successful. In addition, two grants from the Ann C Keyser Trust were received.

She noted that the board decides which projects to develop and produce and responds to the needs of each project and the crew.

“Each board member takes turns producing a film,” Adams said. “Sometimes scenes will be filmed on our properties or we offer to house the cast, as needed.”

Rawlins’ next film will be “Three Witches,” featuring an all-female cast in a re-imaging of “Macbeth” with a strong debt to “Heart of Darkness” as well.

“There’s a lot to be gained by getting out of your comfort zone. I feel like all of our films do that to some extent,” he said.

Bella Luna’s funding is made up of a combination of sources such as private equity, venture capital and grants.

View the “Mania” trailer here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_uz4INUgKU. Bella Luna Productions may be reached at: admin@bellalunaproductions.com and 323-522-5822.