It begins with a science project and an ominous message from above.

The regionally produced, coming-of-age drama "Different Drummers" takes place in Spokane in the 1960s, and it's based on the childhood experiences of co-director/writer Lyle Hatcher.

The movie is about two kids on seemingly opposite ends of the spectrum. Young Lyle has ADHD and energy to spare, while David is wheelchair-bound by muscular dystrophy.

Working together on the class science project, David tells Lyle their fourth-grade teacher is going to die, and that God told him it would happen. When it comes true, Lyle sets his own test of faith - getting David out of his wheelchair and running on his own two feet.

In the midst of a successful theatrical run in Spokane, "Different Drummers" opens this week in Coeur d'Alene.

Behind-the-scenes, "Different Drummers" is also how two very different people came together to make a movie. Co-director/writer Don Caron, a Spokane composer and sound engineer who also co-wrote the 1999 film "The Basket," first heard Hatcher's short story on the subject and insisted that Hatcher pursue a movie version.

Hatcher, an investment broker, had no experience in filmmaking, but that didn't stop the pair from writing the screenplay together and securing the financing to produce the film around Spokane in 2012.

"Lyle and I are polar opposites in many ways," Caron said. "That worked to our advantage because it allowed us to cover a broader range of skills and artistic nuance than either one of us would accomplish single-handedly."

"Lyle was focused on recreating the events and appearances of the past while I was focused on recreating the emotion and mystery of the story," Caron said.

The entire film was shot in Spokane, including many scenes shot at the actual locations of events back in 1965.

"For me, it initially wasn't an important consideration to film in Spokane," Caron said. "I didn't believe the emotional power of the story would be adversely affected by whether or not the locations and names were actual."

That changed, however, once Hatcher insisted on shooting at key Spokane locations in the story.

"But there were moments where being in the precise location, literally to the inch," Caron said. "(It) created an almost mystical energy that infused itself into the set and into the actors."

"Looking back I wouldn't want to have shot it anywhere else," he said. "I even admitted to Lyle that I was wrong about it. I believe it's the only time in nine years of working with him that I was ever wrong."

Ultimately, their collaboration, and sometimes opposing ideas, worked to the film's advantage.

"Based on the movie sets I've been on, it was the calmest and smoothest I've ever seen," Caron said. "Neither approach, his or mine, would have functioned alone as effectively as it did in balance with the other."

The finished product is a family-friendly story about bug collecting, friendship and how children explore faith.

After some success on the festival circuit last year, "Different Drummers" has a distribution deal with Heritage Films and will be moving onto further U.S. distribution throughout the year. You can see it now, though, in your own backyard.

More information on the film, and a list of theaters in the region that are screening it, can be found at www.DifferentDrummersMovie.com.

Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.