"The Roosevelt Tree" trailer released by Valley filmmaker

While feature-length shooting hasn't even begun for a Palmer filmmaker's The Roosevelt Tree, there is already a trailer touting the project.

Brian George Smith and his cast and crew shot footage throughout the Valley this summer, and the result is a nearly nine-minute preview trailer that Smith is hoping will garner financial interest from backers in order to shoot the movie next summer.

"With a trailer in my hand, we can hit those people who said 'maybe' a few months ago and show them what we're doing and the quality of what we're doing, and hopefully we can get them behind the project," Smith said while filming the trailer in late July. "The final piece is raising some money."

Smith hopes for a budget of around $60,000, which is a small budget for a feature-length film. He is planning to use the same cast and crew to shoot the feature-length film next summer.

Smith wrote the The Roosevelt Tree, which is his third film. He is also directing, filming and editing the project, as well as many of the other duties, including the casting and producing duties.

The trailer is a nine-minute montage of scenes shot from Point MacKenzie, the Knik River area, Anchorage, Mead's Coffeehouse and other Valley locations.

The plot involves "an old Scotsman and a young girl who set out to save the last trees on Earth," Smith said.

Smith shot entire scenes during late July, to capture the "magic moments," which he edited into the trailer.

Playing the role of Pete, the old Scotsman, is Jerry Harper. He shines on the trailer, as does Sarah Jackson, who plays 10-year-old Emma. Both leave the viewer waiting to see the feature-length film.