Finding the best locations for the independent film “Benavides Born” is what’s occupying Paul Knaus these days.

The feature, which begins production in mid March and concludes through April 11, has opened its office in nearby San Diego in what used to be an old funeral home.

On Wednesday, I scored a short interview with Knaus, the film’s location manager, who is caught up in a zealous and frantic pace to find movie locations that include a barn to burn.

Yep! You heard me right!

Apparently, a scene in the film calls for a barn to go up in flames and Paul is soliciting calls to visit potential sites.

It doesn’t matter where the barn is located so long as it’s in the immediate area and it’d be nice if the barn were near a house, in the distance, where a light goes on. (As a low budget film, there are no special effects).

So if you happen to own an old barn that’s ready to fall apart, are willing to have it burned down to ground, and are in need of some extra cash (not much just a little), you can call Paul at 361-279- 7108.

There’s also no need to worry about the fire spreading. A fire department will be there and the production company will provide insurance coverage.

And now, back to the film.

While I don’t know much about the storyline and have yet to read the script, a film synopsis from the film’s writer/director, who spent considerable time in San Diego and Benavides researching ideas for the film, goes something like this:

“Benavides Born” is a drama about “Luz Garcia,” a fictional high school senior who desperately wants to go to UT Austin and has earned admission by being among the top in her class.

The problem is her family cannot afford it.

She therefore pins her hopes on a scholarship awarded to the winners of the State High School Powerlifting Meet.

When her powerlifting plans don’t work out as she hoped, she has to find a different kind of strength to keep her dream alive. “

“It’s a universal story of perseverance set within the unique context of South Texas,” said writer/director Amy Wendel, who began her interviews in San Diego just two years ago.

The film stars Corina Calderon, Julio Cedillo, and Julia Vera.

While most of the filming will be done in Benavides and San Diego, there will some filming in neighboring towns. There’s even the chance that some lucky persons could find themselves in the film, as an open casting call (for extras) is scheduled at the San Diego High School Auditorium this Saturday from 11 am to 4pm.

For residents in Benavides, the film is their first real taste of stardom since the early 1970s, when 60 Minutes brought their cameras to the small Texas town in a feature about whom else, but George B. Parr. (It was actually a later 60 Minutes segment about San Diego losing several of its soldiers in the Iraq War that first interested Amy and her husband/cowriter/ producer Dan Meisel in the area.)

It’s been a long time since then and the renewed interest in the small town will certainly go a long way towards rebuilding its image.

All we have to do now is to wait for the cinematic treat to appear at a theatre near you.