More than 300 students crowded the Downtown Cinema Friday morning to see the first screening of Mandie and the Secret Tunnel, a film whose local ties drew the large crowd, and is expected to draw more today.

The family feature will be screened at the Downtown Cinema Theater today at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. for the general public. Tickets are $5.

Mandie and the Secret Tunnel is the first feature-length movie based on the popular Mandie books, and it was filmed mostly in North Carolina, with many local connections that granted Mount Airy and surrounding residents the chance for a sneak peak this weekend.

The film’s setting includes scenic mountain vistas, rivers, and fields all located in North Carolina, where Filmmaker Joy Chapman, who grew up in Georgia, spent her childhood summers.

“Actually, one of the reasons I wanted to do the film in the first place is because it was set in the mountains. I grew up camping all over North Carolina as well as visiting my Grandparents, Jane and Bill in Mount Airy,” she said in a recent interview. “Often when we were visiting, we would head up to the Blue Ridge Parkway for a day. I loved those mountains, loved the Parkway, and loved Mount Airy, so I immediately equated filming in the mountains with filming in North Carolina.”

Chapman said she not only borrowed North Carolina’s beautiful settings, but residents from Mount Airy and the surrounding area to help create her vision for the film.

“During prep I made contact with a Sparta resident named Mechelle Dalton. She provided extras for a few scenes, horses, a white kitten, and crawdads. She helped find an authentic horse and wagon team and she and her husband made the crew a meal one cold night when we filmed at Brinegar cabin. Her involvement piqued the interest of many Sparta residents who are coming to Mount Airy to see the film,” she said. “Also, Tanya Jones with the Surry Arts Council provided some consulting advice, my cousin, Jerry and his kids were extras, the Sobotta Manor was used as a location, and Babs Merritt provided furniture. Mechelle, Jerry, and Tanya all welcomed the idea of having an early screening at the Downtown Cinema Theater, and so with all the involvement of local people, we thought Mount Airy was the ideal place to have a pre-screening. We expect the 7 p.m. screening to be full, so we are encouraging folks to come to the 4:30 p.m. showing.”

The film is for children ages 7 to 13, and follows the adventures of Mandie in the early 1990s as a young girl whose life changes when her Cherokee friends help her escape to a mansion that holds the hidden secrets of her past and the key to her future. The film’s cast includes Dean Jones (The Love Bug, That Darn Cat). Lexi Johnson appears in the title role after making her feature debut in Chapman’s other production “The Sugar Creek Gang” series. The supporting cast includes William Yelton (John Adams) plus several other North Carolina actors including Martin Thompson, Angela Oberer, Dave Blamy, and Gezelle Fleming.

About 280 students from Sparta Elementary School in Alleghany County were in attendance at a screening for students Friday morning which also included a little more than 20 high school students with the early college at Surry Community College.

Some of the elementary students participated in the films as extras, and some of the high school students were aspiring filmmakers, directors or actors hoping to learn from Chapman, who hosted the screening with her co-writer and co-producer Owen Smith. Following the film the pair talked to the students about their aspirations and offered advised.

“You can get a lot better insight from people from small towns who made it,” said Evan Culler, 17. “It’s nice to see people from a small town persevere.”

His classmate, Tanner King, 17, agreed.

“I am interested in acting and directing all in one film,” said King, who added he was impressed with the final product of the film made on an inexpensive budget.

“It was great to be a low budget film,” he added. “It looked like it was made on a medium budget. I think the best part of the film were the locations.”

Katie Turner, 10, and her cousin Lexie Nelson, 11, both of Sparta, said they enjoyed the film, and would encourage other children to see it.

“I want to read the (Mandie) books now,” said Turner.

“Me too,” Nelson agreed. “I really liked the ending, and I loved the clothes they wore.”

Deb Smith, a teaching assistant at the media center at Sparta Elementary, said the scenery in the film was beautiful, but it’s respectable image and message was ideal for children.

“I think it would be good to promote the book series at the school,” she said. “The children were quite attentive, and it was nice to see them enjoy something wholesome. It was really great.”

For more information about the film screening call the Surry Arts Council at 786-7998 or visit www.mandiemovie.com.

Contact Erin C. Perkins at eperkins@mtairynews.com or 719-1952.