Courtesy of Mother Nature, this area looks and feels like the frozen tundra, but one aspect of Northeast Ohio life is actually warming up: the local film scene.

Steve Pallotta and Gary Kiser will debut their film Forbidden Closet at 7 p.m. March 2 at the Highland Theater in Akron.

Pallotta, 44, of Copley Township, and Kiser, also 44, a Massillon resident, labored over the movie, which was shot on digital video, for more than a year.

The Twilight Zone-inspired film features four shorts, each with a bizarre twist. Pallotta, who works on computers from his home full time, wrote and directed three of the films and collaborated with Kiser on the fourth.

Pallotta, who formed Fool's Gold Entertainment with Kiser, veered into moviemaking after realizing that technology had come far enough that movies could be produced inexpensively with consumer digital video cameras and a personal computer with enough processing power.

Although he declined to give an exact figure, he and Kiser have a ``few thousand dollars'' tied up in Closet.

Pallotta said steps were taken to ensure that Forbidden Closet didn't look like a home movie. Among them: shooting from a crane and giving it a cinematic, widescreen format.

Pallotta said the film has attracted the attention of a Hollywood film broker. He's waiting on audience reaction before submitting it, but he hopes that Forbidden Closet is eventually distributed on some level.

What are his plans beyond that? Well, like any filmmaker, he wants to diversify and show some range, so he wants to write and direct a romantic comedy. And there's always Forbidden Attic, Forbidden Cellar and...