OLYMPIA FILMMAKER WRAPS SHOOTING OF DEBUT FEATURE >>>

I found Jeff Stillwell where I suppose everyone at some point last week found themselves: in the snow. I caught Stillwell on Friday in his car, leaving home in Olympia to brave the treacherous expressways and make a party in Seattle that night.

Wait, a party? With weather like this, you couldn't beg me to drive to the end of the block. But this event held some significance for the 19-year-old Stillwell. Shooting on his debut feature, Henryk, finished earlier this month, and cast and crew decided to fight the ice by blowing off some steam.

The last footage made it into the proverbial can on Friday the 13th, with bad luck nipping at Henryk's heels. "It started snowing the day after we wrapped," Stillwell recalls. "It was really poetic."

But the filmmaker managed to capture the final piece of his script just in time - a chase between the hero, Julian, and a very un-neighborly satanic cult. As the director called "Cut!" after the last take, Ian Lindsay, who plays the detective lead, commemorated the moment by doing circles in his prop car and honking wildly. That's a cop for you - never far from a few donuts.

"It was quite a scene," says Stillwell, laughing.

The fun rolls on as Stillwell searches for an editor to help assemble Henryk. Despite all the new moviemaking experience under his belt, Stillwell still sees himself "first and foremost" as a musician. So he can't wait to begin crafting part of the film's score with a collaborator.

Stillwell has tentatively slated a final cut of Henryk for Summer 2012. Follow his progress on Facebook and at Henryk's website.