CONWAY — Over the summer, central Arkansas has been a hotbed of film activity.

Students at the University of Central Arkansas are wrapping up production of 30-minute film called The Space Station, as other students work to complete the school's first feature-length film, A Table at Luigi's.

Those working on The Space Station have completed nine of 10 production days. They will soon enter into post-production mode, said Casey Kucera, producer of the film.

He said the city of Conway and the local community have been very supportive of their efforts.

"It's a project outside of class, but we have the full support of the university," he said.

He solicited the help of Arkansas film commissioner Chris Crane.

"He helped us close down a block of Capitol Avenue. It's a pretty big project in terms of short films," Kucera said.

The film tells the story of a young woman who moves to New York City to be a writer. She and a friend decide she needs a wealthy paramour to pony up the finances to publish her book.

"She kind of falls for him more than what she expected, and he springs on her that he wants her to go to his private space station," Kucera said, adding that the main character is faced with a tough decision.

When production is finished, Kucera plans a local premier for the film and then hopes to have it shown in places like South by Southwest, Houston's film festival, Los Angeles and Sundance.

He's also looking at online and television outlets like Hulu and the Independent Film Channel.

"The world is a little bit different than it was 10 and definately 20 years ago where your traditional routes were distribution, and you were pretty much locked in on how you could get your film out there," he said.

Space Station is directed by Michael Sutterfield. The lead actors are Amber Edens and Stephen Perry.

Crew members watch as they film a scene from The Space Station on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

Find out more information at www.thespacestationmovie.com.

The second film of the summer, Table at Luigi's, is a "modern day fairy tale" about a chef who creates "living dreams" for his customers with his cooking. The chef is played by Frank Romeo. The film is directed and written by UCA professor Joe Dull. The UCA Digital Filmmaking department will also use the talents of the university's theatre and music departments for the film.

Table at Luigi's has had several calls for extras - the last being on July 28 - and has filmed in locations all over Conway, like Stromboli's, the downtown area and the UCA guest house.

The film crew finished shooting on August 1. Find out more at myspace.com/tableatluigis.