It's tough to break into the Hollywood film scene, but Blake Sherman came up with an idea of how to get opportunity knocking.

"There were no doors opening, so I said let's grab a hammer and nails and make a door," the 2002 Flathead High School graduate said.

The door he's hoping will be the threshold of his career is "Manifest Migration,"a feature-length independent film he wrote.

Sherman has been in Los Angeles the past two years and spent a year at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Hollywood. Instead of tapping into a second year of study there, he decided to go it alone.

"I found myself [at school] not having time to develop quality performances; I was doing mediocre scenes," he said. "I thought I have enough self-discipline to go at it myself."

Sherman, who was active with Flathead High's drama program, is still taking acting lessons, and his film project has given him a chance to not only write and direct but also act.

He plunged into the project after Christmas break, finding cameras, actors, figuring out a budget and securing locations.

Kalispell, it occurred to him, would be an ideal spot to film, and other than the lack of snow for winter scenes, his hometown worked out well as a backdrop for what he calls a coming-of-age "dramedy." The crew wrapped up its work in the Kalispell area last week. Some scenes will be shot in Los Angeles.

Sherman's screenplay revolves around a young L.A. novelist who still has ties to his small hometown.

"He gets a request from his girlfriend to come back home, and through his friends, he's getting all this bad news," Sherman said.

As the proverbial storm clouds gather over the young man, the story is how he handles the adversity.

"It's a relationship movie; you get involved with the characters," he added. "It's about having big dreams in a small town."

Sherman plays Bobby, the leading character, and a number of his friends joined the cast, including Flathead Valley Community Theatre actors Jillian Vashro and Marcus Walbert. University of Montana student Tanner Falcon is in the cast, along with Trusten Williamson and Derek Dalton of Kalispell.

Nico Heitert of Kalispell is director of photography, and Odie Erickson, also of Kalispell, will help Sherman edit the film.

"Independents have a lot of heart," he said. "People are willing to go the extra mile."

Even though the film was low-budget, it still cost Sherman a fair amount of money.

"It was a big risk, but it's worth it," he said. "It's what I want to do."

After working both sides of the camera directing and acting, Sherman has newfound respect for the movie greats such as Clint Eastwood who have done both so successfully.

"You need a well-oiled crew," Sherman observed.

He hopes to have the film produced by late spring.

"We'll take it to film festivals. It's a resume tool, something to hand to somebody," he said. "We hope to have a piece we're proud of."

Sherman, the son of Gail Sherman and Myron Sherman of Kalispell, hopes to set up a local preview of the film.

"This has been more than getting your feet wet," he said of the film project. "It's a wade in the pool."

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com