The student-produced film, &Deus Ex Machina,& which had its Sacramento State premiere last month, has plans for a New York showing and student creator Robert Young is thrilled at the idea.

&This is not what I had expected and it&s so awesome,& Young said.

Young is a Sac State junior in the Digital Video Department who decided to make a movie combining his passion for music with the skills he&s learned in filmmaking.

Young conceived the movie, which is based on the world of scratch DJs, with help from his friend Julianna Snapper, a professor at UC San Diego.

&I developed the story based on conversations I had with Julianna about the music industry,& Young said.

Snapper recently viewed the film with her friend, Laurie Weeks, who also happens to be a screenwriter, most notably for the Oscar winning movie, &Boys Don&t Cry.&

Weeks was really impressed with the film and its message, and decided to ask Young for some copies so she could show some of her colleagues in New York.

&She said it was awe-inspiring,& Young said. &That&s such an honor.&

The film is centered on the diversity of the scratch DJ music genre, and how it can transcend racial and cultural boundaries to combine all styles of music, and create one sound.

Young said the music industry is segregated into styles like hip hop, country and opera, and in each style a different type of person can be connected as a fan or artist, but scratch DJs incorporate all kinds of people and musical styles.

&From black, to white, Asian, Mexican, girls, guys, straight, gay, scratch contains all types of people and genres of music, and blends them all together,& Young said.

Since students orchestrated every aspect of the production, the film took almost two years from conception to completion.

Editors, actors, sound and lighting crews all worked for free, demonstrating that most students involved were there for fun and the mutual love of filmmaking.

&The experience was just as great as the outcome,& Young said.

Sac State theater student Sarah Penney responded to a flier posted in Shasta Hall calling for actors to participate in a student film her freshman year. Now a junior, Penney was more affected by the message of the film, rather than seeing herself on the big screen.

&This project itself was really cool, and seeing myself made me realize that I was actually a part of this movie and its message,& Penney said.

Despite the unexpected success the film is now receiving, Young stays humble.

&I just wanted to show what a great community scratch DJs are in 8211; not try to make it big or anything. But everything that&s happening is so great,& Young said.

Next up for &Deus Ex Machina& is a viewing at UCSD next year, and hopefully a viewing in the Bay Area, as well.