April 12: 412 Day — A movie about Pittsburgh (if you’re not from here that’s our area code). Or maybe one made here. Heck, just write about Striking Distance if you want.

I found Blanc de Blanc on Tubi and was shocked that most of it was shot a block from my brother’s house in Shadyside. It was directed by Lucas McNelly and written by McNelly, Jennifer Byler and Jason Kirsch as part of 2wkfilm, a friendly Twitter challenge among filmmakers. Filmed in a little over four days, it used equipment donated by a local church and the now gone Art Institute of Pittsburgh.

A man (Kirsch) moves to Pittsburgh and falls for a woman (Rachel Shaw) he meets on the street. Romance is hard, however, as he has a past that won’t stop haunting him.

From that garage across from Girasole to Plum over by Kelly’s — how that bar didn’t end up in this I have no idea — to the streets and avenues of Pittsburgh’s suburbs, this was the kind of movie that I end up watching to see if one of my friends randomly walks into the shot.

That said, this cost $970 to make and has all improvised dialogue, so knowing that and it’s hard to be let down by this. Consider this a time capsule of Shadyside when bars like the Harris were still around, in the days before we had ride sharing and people were landlocked into their neighborhoods and small places could still be around.