James Duval, in a scene from "Naked Angel."

Local filmmaker Christina Morales Hemenway — whose feature film “Naked Angel” is having a sneak preview screening on Friday, September 24 at the Michigan Theater — earns the sympathy of her mother on a regular basis.

“She says that she feels bad for me, because she’s a poet, and all she needs is a piece of paper and a pen, and she can get it out of her,” said Hemenway. “I have to build a city just to get it out of me. I’m like, this is the kind of movie I want to see, so I have to create it so I can go to the movies and see it.”

“Angel” is Hemenway’s most recent passion project, shot in Ann Arbor in 28 days last October. The film tells the story of an intensely shy man (James Duval) who wants to let go of life when he falls in love with his guardian angel (Cameron Watkins), who wants to be human.

For some film fans, this synopsis may call up associations with Wim Wenders’ “Wings of Desire,” wherein a male angel falls in love with a human woman.

“That’s the only similarity,” said Hemenway. “That and that Wim Wenders talked about (‘Wings’) being a love letter to his city, and I feel that way about Ann Arbor. … But I don’t know if (‘Wings’) informed (‘Angel’) very much. It’s more my ethereal sense. I’ve always been interested in the ethereal nature of things — metaphysical things.”

Hemenway first wrote the screenplay 15 years ago, when she was living and working in Los Angeles.

“It was a spec script for (the television show) ‘Touched by an Angel,’” said Hemenway. “I had a friend on that series, and she said, ‘Why don’t you write a script for us?’ I wrote the script, but then afterwards, I didn’t want to give it to them. I just felt like it was more of an art-house piece than it was a Hallmark Channel kind of piece. So I said, ‘OK, I’m going to keep this for myself.’”

But when and where the film would get made was a longstanding question. Hemenway had grown up in Ann Arbor before moving to L.A. at age 18.

“I was out there 17 years doing film production, trying to make it work there,” Hemenway said. “And then, at some point, … I basically said, I’ve been out here because this is where my dream is, but if I don’t stop now, I won’t have a child. So I said, OK, I’m going to give it all up, and I’m going to move back to Ann Arbor, Michigan. I had my son, and then the (state film) incentive program passed. And now — it’s such a miracle, because I get to do what I love to do and have my family.”

Making films is a costly venture, though, even with the incentives in place; so despite “Angel”’s relatively modest budget (Hememway wouldn’t reveal any figures), the writer/director had to start trying to find funding for it while also promoting her last feature film, “Dreammaker.” To this end, she made a trailer for “Angel” first, asking friends and family to come see the trailer and buy a ticket to a movie that had yet to be made, and this largely raised the initial $5,000 in seed money for “Angel.”

And Hemenway’s project got a substantial boost when she sent her script to Duval (“Donnie Darko”), who seemed exactly right for the lead role, and he accepted the offer.

“His friends, before he came, they said to him, ‘Why are you doing this project? You don’t know the director, you don’t know anybody here, they’re not paying you that well — what are you doing?’ And he said, ‘I like the script,’” Hemenway explained. “And that’s the biggest compliment a writer could ever get. So that was a dream. And he was a dream to work with. He was such a pro, such a great human being, and I feel like everyone learned from him.”

The last scheduled day of filming for “Angel” was the one most fraught with peril. Not simply because the scene was the movie’s climax (“If we don’t get this shot, there is no movie,” said Hemenway) and involved complicated logistics — riggings, barricades, stopping traffic on the Broadway Bridge — but because weather had already delayed shooting once, and it was raining yet again. To add more stress to the situation, the L.A.-based actors in the film were scheduled to return home the following day.

Stalling, Hemenway announced a lunch break for cast and crew, who all headed to Casey’s on Depot Street. And while she tried to smile through it all, Hemenway finally escaped to the restaurant’s bathroom, and actress Linda Chapman, who plays a mentor guardian angel in the movie, followed her.

“And I lose it,” said Hemenway. “I’m saying, ‘I can’t believe it. Fifteen years of work, and there’s absolutely nothing I can do. It’s raining. There’s nothing I can do.’ And (Chapman) said, ‘Well, we could make room for a miracle. We could just talk about the possibility of that happening.’ I’m like, ‘All right. I don’t see any way right now, but sure.’”

After trying to embrace a hopeful mindset, Hemenway pulled herself back together, ready to face whatever happened.

“And we walked outside, and there’s blue sky,” said Hemenway. “I looked at my DP and the two main actors, and without a word, we just walked out there. The rest of the crew continued eating, they needed to eat, and then eventually, they joined us, and we shot that puppy in between raindrops. We basically just held for the rain, went back, and got it in the can.”

Watch the "Naked Angel" trailer":

The Michigan Theater screening of “Angel” is labeled a sneak preview, not a world premiere, in part because there are a few last post-production details to take care of, and the screening — with its pre-screening gala fundraiser — should help to fund them.

“The ticket money that is sold is also going to go to a better sound mix; what you’ll hear is a temp track, in terms of the music and that kind of thing,” said Hemenway. “The special effects will be beefed up. … (The screening) will help us go to the next level with (‘Angel’).”

After making these final changes, Hemenway plans to submit "Angel" to several film festivals. But don’t expect this to be the last film you see from Hemenway. Reportedly, she’s got eight screenplays ready to go, all written during her time in Los Angeles.

“I worked at Interscope, which is now Radar Pictures, as a receptionist, and at the time, it was so slow that I finished eight scripts while I was there,” said Hemenway. “I can’t remember how many years I worked there, … but I would sit in that room and make up stories, and it was my way of making the time pass.”

Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.