HALLOWELL — Production wrapped last week on a gritty gangster film in which Chris Walters fittingly plays a landlord.

Only in real life, he hasn’t yet stumbled upon European painkillers in a tenant’s basement.

Additional Photos

Director/actor Farruh, right and actress Vanessa Leigh discuss a scene before shooting it last week inside a house in Hallowell. The feature film "SRQ State of Mind," which was written and produced by and stars Chris Walters, has been filmed at various locations in the area. Staff photo by Joe Phelan

Jon Markham, left, and Chris Walters watch the playback of a scene Markham just shot while they were filming "SRQ State of Mind" last week inside a house in Hallowell. The feature film, written, produced and starring Chris Walters, has been filmed at various locations in the area. Staff photo by Joe Phelan

The Hallowell owner of the Winthrop-based property management company MTC Enterprises bankrolled, wrote, produced and is the leading man in “SRQ State of Mind,” an independent film shot in the capital area on a grueling 16-day schedule, which required 12- to 16-hour days — some in the midst of a heat wave.

“The makeup artist was sopping my bald head and putting powder on it,” Walters said.

Walters, 34, said the movie is now in post-production. It should be finished by spring, so it will be ready to screen at film festivals, which typically take place in the summer, he said.

A party for the approximately 30-person cast and crew, with a screening of rough-cut footage, is slated for September at Joyce’s, a Water Street restaurant.

“SRQ” is a reference to the colloquial abbreviation for Sarasota, Fla., where Walters was chiefly brought up.

He said the movie is Maine-centric, though; it is set in central Maine and was shot in Hallowell, Winthrop, Augusta and Vassalboro.

Walters plays Mr. Red, one of two ex-drug dealers gone legitimate until they find those drugs. They have to decide whether to leave them for police or make their final drug run.

Complicating the plot is the fact that Mr. Red’s wife, played by Vanessa Leigh, a Concord, N.H. actress with a lengthy resume in commercials and indie features, is having an affair with the crooked police detective investigating the tenants.

Farruh, 34, of Gardiner, directed the film and stars as that crooked cop.

A native of Uzbekistan who came to America 10 years ago, Farruh is also a second-degree blackbelt in karate and has directed and produced three features with his company, Dungan Productions, before this.

“I knew he was doing these things on low budgets, but his production values are through the roof,” Walters said. “He’s a phenomenal leader and a great talent.”

This is a break in genre for Farruh — he has dealt with martial arts-themed features so far.

“The movies he grew up interested in and influenced by were more the Jackie Chan-Jet Li type,” Walters said. “My influence is very American.”

Walters said he was influenced by renowned American directors, naming Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma and Francis Ford Coppola.

The movie, he said, will be made for less than $50,000. Walters said Winthrop filmmaker Allen Cognata, who shot “The Putt Putt Syndrome” in Winthrop in 2009, will be advising him on post-production and distribution.

Athough it his first foray into film but for an unproduced screenplay written in college, Walters has high ambitions — he said he’ll be taking trips to Los Angeles to pitch it to executives in hoping of landing a theatrical release with DVD and Blu-ray distribution.

“I’m willing to go to the end of the Earth for this film,” Walters said. “I’m very enthusiatic about the prospects.”

During the filming process, Walters said he decided he wants to sell many of his properties in the area, planning on getting “90 percent” out of the real estate business to devote more time to film.

“I want to make movies,” he said. “I don’t want to be burdened by landlording and construction. This is much more fun.”

Michael Shepherd — 621-5662

mshepherd@mainetoday.com