When five Germantown men won first prize for their feature film, “The Path of Fear,” in the locally produced narrative feature division of the Memphis Indie Film Festival on Saturday, October 5, it was not a sudden success.

It started way back in middle school.

Even then, Brad Ellis and Allen Gardner were obsessed with film, taping sessions and developing screenplays. In 1998, Ellis and Gardner connected with Mark Norris, Matt Weatherly, and Joey Watson and it was from that connection that Old School Pictures was born.

Joey Watson taught Film and Video at Houston High School, where all the young men attended, and he helped spark the creativity already present in them all. Watson had graduated from the University of Memphis with a degree in Theatre and Communications and taught both courses for two years before going back to graduate school at the U of M.

“At Houston High, Joey Watson got them all excited about picture-making,” says Pam Chapman, executive producer of the film.

Chapman, a Screen Actors Guild member with experience appearing in the films “The Rainmaker” and “Chasing the Dragon,” and who presently has a TV pilot, “Justice For Y’all,” ready for distribution, was interested in the young filmmakers and encouraged them.

“That was all they needed,” she comments.

Chapman brought encouragement and knowledge to their cause. “I had just had small roles,” she explains. “But what they really needed was a person who could support their passion.”

She helped them raise money for their films and instructed them on fund-raising and publicity. Through her job as mall manager for Belz Factory Outlet Mall at Lakeland, she was able to get Belz Enterprises to invest in making the film.

Brad Ellis, the member of their group who has directed all six of their films, puts it plainly. “Without the support of all our families and friends in Germantown, ‘The Path of Fear’ might not ever have become a reality,” he says.

The movie, shot on digital video and edited on an Adobe Premiere nonlinear editing system on a home personal computer, won the group a $600 prize in the “Hometowner” category for Shelby County filmmakers. It was the first time Old School Pictures had competed in the film festival.

“The Path of Fear” is a supernatural thriller about five teenagers who, while hanging out around an old movie theater, unknowingly awaken the presence of a 12 year-old girl who years before had fallen to her death from an upstairs balcony. Local actors included Marie-Claire Hardy, Julianne Dowler, and Natalie Jones.

The five year-old Indie Memphis Film Festival, dedicated to “The Soul of Southern Film,” was held this year in a legitimate movie theater. It was held last year in various locations on Beale Street. Muvico at Peabody Place let Indie Memphis use three auditoriums, each of which had 300 seats.

Ellis, Norris, and Weatherly are all University of Memphis seniors studying Film and Video Production. They plan to go on to graduate school. Gardner has moved to Los Angeles to pursue and acting career but still comes home to make movies with the group. Watson is still in graduate school at the U of M.

“Our fan base started small, but it has grown considerably the past few years as evidenced by our sell-out movie premieres at Malco Theatres,” Ellis said.

The group’s website is www.oldschoolpictures.net. It includes their filmography with plot summaries, trailers for most of the films, biographies, and pictures from both on-set production and movie premieres. There is even a page to contact them (mail@oldschoolpictures.net).