Filmmaker Mary Haverstick spends most of her time these days hovered over a computer screen in her tiny office on the second floor of an old row house on North Prince Street.

She's creating clouds, modulating voices and smoothing the rough edges on her new movie, "Home," which is already getting plenty of buzz even though it probably won't be shown anywhere until the fall.

Haverstick says rumors floated on the Internet that "Home" would be shown at Sundance, even though she hasn't even submitted the film to the famous festival.

But that's what happens when your film stars an Academy Award-winning actress.

Marcia Gay Harden, who won best supporting actress for "Pollock" in 2001, liked Haverstick's screenplay so much she signed on to star and spent most of her summer last year filming in the Lancaster countryside.

"We've pinched ourselves a thousand times, from having investors who believed in us to casting directors believing in us to Marcia's interest to finding out she had a daughter who would be perfect for a role we weren't sure we could cast," Haverstick says.

"Home" is about Inga, a poet who is in a bad marriage, has a problem with alcohol and has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Set in the early 1960s, when breast cancer was often a death sentence, Inga wants to make sure her daughter can appreciate the things that are so important to Inga and break away from generations of addiction.

"It's ultimately about a woman who overcomes a lot for love of her daughter," Haverstick says. "She is struggling to hold on to beauty and the innocence of things she loves so much and feels she's losing."

Hence, the clouds.

Haverstick opens the movie with Inga and her daughter on a blanket, looking at clouds, marveling at how stunning they are.

Of course, when the scene was filmed, the clouds weren't cooperating. But thanks to software programs, Haverstick was able to film the clouds later and put them into her film.

"The whole movie, in a way, has to do with clouds," Haverstick says. "In some scenes, we make the clouds move a little faster. It's a lot of work on the computer."

Haverstick, 46, is a lifelong Lancaster resident. She's a graduate of Penn Manor High School and Franklin & Marshall College.

Although she made her first short films at 11, she never went to film school and is self-taught.

Her interest in making films took a detour, first in college when she played competitive tennis, and then in the 1980s, when she hosted a program on WGAL-TV called "Susquehanna People."

She left WGAL to pursue her interest in film making and, in 1989, she and Michele Mercure founded Haverstick Films.

The company has made a number of documentaries, two feature films — "Shades of Black" (1991) and "Christmas Dinner" (1996) — as well as a number of short films.

"I love every aspect of filmmaking," she says. "Though each stage has its own anxieties."

Overall, Haverstick says last summer's filming was an extraordinary experience.

"Marcia was so easy to work with and her ability to capture a variety of emotions was just amazing," Haverstick says. "There's a magic to Inga, and with Marcia, it's there. She's just on a higher level of acting."

"There is such breadth to her performance," says Mercure, who is writing the score and has been involved with the film since the beginning. "There is such beauty and angst and serenity in her."

But having such a terrific actress in her film also added to the pressure.

"It wasn't because of Marcia. It was my own pressure," Haverstick says. "I worried about being up to par. I worried about our scenic design being up to par. I wanted to make it worth her while. She was taking a chance on this small-budget film (less than $1 million). and I wanted to bring my best to it. That was the pressure I had every single day."

Getting Harden proved to be a double stroke of good fortune thanks to Harden's daughter, Eulala Grace Scheel.

"I was really worried about how I was going to get a mother/daughter connection, two actors who could bond and be best friends," Haverstick says. "We didn't have a lot of time to develop that."

But Harden's daughter more than fit the billing.

"That was a stunning stroke of luck," Haverstick says. "For a 7-year-old, her acting and emotion were incredible. And what a screen presence. She holds her own against her mother."

The cast also includes Marian Seldes, who is currently on Broadway with Angela Lansbury in "Deuce," and who taught acting for years at Julliard. Her students included Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, Kevin Spacey and Laura Linney.

"She was phenomenal and so gracious. Marcia was excited to work with her," Haverstick says. "She just has this incredible presence."

The script for "Home," which is what drew the film's top-caliber talent to the project, originally began as three shorter scripts.

One was about her mother, a poet who passed away a decade ago (Haverstick is using her poems in the film). Another was based on a short story about a house. And Haverstick wanted to address alcoholism, something she says has touched her family and friends.

"The idea was to do a series of three short films, but then they all started to become one," she says.

The Lancaster countryside is used to great effect, according to Haverstick.

"I really wanted to make a beautiful film."

While post production is winding down, the business side is coming front and center.

"We'll be entering film festivals this summer, so we'll need to have copies of the film ready. It doesn't have to be finished, but it has to give you a good sense of the film," Haverstick says. "Since there is so much buzz, we'll need a sales agent. They know the marketplace and help you sell to a distributor. Then you've got to negotiate a contract."

While she is eager for a local premiere, Haverstick notes that there are rules about showing a film in public before certain festivals agree to show it.

"As soon as we've had a festival premiere, I want to show it here," Haverstick says. "I want to make a splash here."

Is she worried about the film once it goes out into the big world?

"Everyone believed in this project," she says with a satisfied smile. "I believe it will do well."

CONTACT US: jholahan@LNPnews.com or 481-6016