Late Tuesday morning, David Schwimmer — director of the independent feature film “Trust,” which is currently shooting in Ann Arbor, Dexter and Plymouth (see "More Info" box for details) — held a press conference at the University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Complex (formerly Pfizer) to talk about his latest project.

The film, starring Clive Owen and Catherine Keener, tells the story of a 14-year-old girl who becomes the victim of an online predator, and the emotional and psychological toll the experience takes on the family — specifically, the father.

The film seems to be a personal passion project for Schwimmer, who has worked with Santa Monica’s Rape Foundation for 14 years.

“We have a fundraiser every year, and at one fundraiser about 7 years ago, a father spoke for the first time, telling his story of everything that went on, emotionally and psychologically, when he learned that his 14-year-old daughter had been groomed online and subsequently raped, and how the family survived and moved on from that trauma,” Schwimmer said. “I was so taken by his eloquence and his articulation of what he went through, what the whole family went through, that I thought, this could be an interesting new way to tell this story.”

Schwimmer stated that his goal with the film is to entertain as well as educate, calling the film a “dramatic thriller.”

“If we all do our job right, if we’re very lucky, perhaps (‘Trust’) could have an effect the way movies like ‘The Accused’ did,” Schwimmer said. “ … We want to really promote discussion more than anything. … A big thing that we also address in the film is … how technology has completely changed how we socialize, and how kids today — you can be out to dinner and look at a family of four, your typical family of four sitting at another table, and for half the meal, if not more, the kids are buried in their phones or their PDA or their Game Boy, and I believe it’s going to have a tremendous effect over time in how we, as a society, actually interact and socialize.

“So I think that’s one of the things we hope to dramatize, and just ask that people start talking about it and thinking about it. I don’t think any movie is going to necessarily drastically change that, but we can at least help someone give pause for a moment and think again, think twice about, ‘Huh, do my kids have a secret Facebook page that I don’t know about?’ Because most of them do. And then it just hopefully will invite more conversation.”

U-M’s North Campus Research Complex, which has been in limbo since Pfizer left and U-M acquired it, has seemingly become an ideal production studio in the interim time before U-M fully makes use of it. Schwimmer and his team have used various spaces there to stage an emergency room, O’Hare Airport’s security area (in what is normally a cafeteria), a therapist’s office, an FBI office, and a flagship store, among other sites.

“It’s saved us a lot of time and money, because anytime you move locations, it costs money and time, and this is an incredible facility because it lends itself to several completely different locations,” said Schwimmer.

The film has an international distribution deal, but no domestic distributor yet, so Schwimmer believes the movie may premiere at festivals. And while Schwimmer had Chicago in mind (Wilmette, specifically) — and the story is still set there — the state's incentives brought him to Michigan. Several Hollywood productions have shot in the area recently.

“On an independent film like this, where we have very little money, it is a critical difference with the incentives here in Michigan,” said Schwimmer. “A 40 to 42 percent rebate and incentive — that’s a significant difference to Illinois, which is about 30 percent. That may not seem like much, but on a budget as tight as ours, it’s a lot of money for us. It’s equivalent to about 4-5 days of shooting. So if it looks the same, feels the same, why don’t we shoot here?“

And while Schwimmer confessed that he’s been too busy to see or experience much of what Michigan has to offer, he’s been charmed by the treatment he and his crew have received.

“Everyone’s been incredibly kind and really, really accommodating, and really sweet, both in Ann Arbor and in Plymouth,” said Schwimmer. “We’ll be working late at night, like a really gloomy day, and suddenly … this lovely couple that owns a tea shop came out and set up a table with a big thing of hot tea for the whole crew. Things like that don’t really happen in L.A.“

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.