On September 8, “Under the Sun”, a film made completely by Elgin Community College  students, was hosted by the student organization, ASPIRE. The film was directed by Miguel Garcia who is an ECC Alumni and former ASPIRE president. The film focuses on a family who’s lives change when tragedy strikes.

Garcia got his main inspiration for making film from the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible, along with the idea of the human beings not being able to control time at its will. With a reasonable turn-out and mostly positive reviews, “Under the Sun” shows a story of tragedy, hope and the importance of family. It demonstrates that while you cannot change the past, you can work to make the future better.

“This added to the cool factor that time traveling brings with it, and made me really excited to tell this story of drama, sci-fi and faith,” said Garcia.

When asked what students can expect from the film, Garcia comments that the story is definitely full of surprises and plot devices that make it fun and rewarding to watch.

“Viewers can expect a film that is not only entertaining but also talks about the different ways of coping with tragedy, from obsession with change, to surrender to God,” said Garcia.

Most of the actors in the film were ASPIRE members. They were especially delighted to help ASPIRE vice president and actress in Under the Sun, Darlene Sandoval, who enjoyed being involved with the film.

“The thought of helping in a movie was something that I really wanted to be part of, the message of an incredible, God-based student film with science fiction was an opportunity that I knew I would regret not participating in,” said Sandoval.

Close to 100 students attended the showing and it was met with mostly positive responses.

“I loved seeing everyone come together to make a beautiful story about God,” said student Keya Mcgee.

At the end of the film, there was a music video of an original song called “Believe” written by Garcia and ECC alumni, Melliza Malabanan, along with a Q & A with the cast and a blooper reel.

When Sandoval was asked if she would do something like this again, she said if another opportunity was brought to her then she would.

“To be able to work together like this with people is new, fun, and a lot of hard work, I had so much fun that everything was worth the ending product,” said Sandoval.

Garcia, who plans to be a director one day, plans on making more movies in the future. He plans to explore other genres but wants to keep one main thing in the films.

“I am planning to experiment with other genres, such as comedy and romance, but no matter what genre I choose I will continue to make faith-driven, thought-provoking, cool movies. Amen.” said Garcia