Lost in La Mancha is a film about a film that does not exist.

Scheduled to play at Bellefonte's Garman Theatre this Friday at 8 p.m., Lost in La Mancha is not just an ordinary documentary.

State College local Louis Pepe co-directed the observational documentary that takes viewers on the journey behind film production.

"This is not an Entertainment Tonight inside look type of thing. This documentary goes beyond the superficial stuff, and focuses in depth about the film process," Pepe said.

An MIT graduate and past staff member of the Penn State's Center for Academic Computing, Pepe was always interested in the production and editing aspect of films.

"Making a film is not just about film clappers, high director's chairs and confident producers yelling 'cut'," he said. "La Mancha gets to the nitty gritty, the unglamorous side of movies."

Pepe along with co-director Keith Fulton set out to make the documentary about the production of Terry Gilliam's adaptation of Don Quixote. The original idea changed, however, when the production took a turn for the disastrous.

The film, set in Madrid, faced more than its fair share of natural disasters. Fiascoes such as flooding, fog, continuous rain, actors falling ill, uncooperative horses and the attack of a swarm of NATO jets were just a few unfortunate incidences that contributed to the crumbling of Don Quixote.

"It was like a contemporary version of the biblical plaque," Pepe said.

When the production of Quixote was canceled, Pepe's cameras were there to capture it.

"It really was fate that created this plot," he said. "Viewers will get to see the real deal."

Even though this documentary is reality, Pepe said it contains plot, a primary character, secondary characters, emotions and drama as a regular film.

Gilliam, director of such works as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, is the main character in the documentary.

Pepe said La Mancha is almost like a eulogy to Gilliam's lost work.

Maura Shea, senior lecturer in film/video for the College of Communications, can't wait to see the film.

"Gilliam is such a nut, it will be more interesting than an average inside look into production," she said. "A lot of films are pure vanity for the directors, and it really isn't."

Mary Lou Pepe, Louis's mother, said the innovative nature of the film will bring it to people's attention.

"Most moviegoers are used to seeing the standard type of Hollywood film, and this is not like that," she said.

But her son is not concerned about audience turnout because he believes La Mancha shows viewers something they normally don't get to see, but are interested in seeing.

"People will gain perspective on the concept of filmmaking through this, they will learn how fragile the process is and how unpredictable each component can be," Pepe said.