Panama Rocks is excited to be featured among other local attractions in “Empire”, a full-length feature filmed and produced primarily in Jamestown. The screening is Saturday, at 8 p.m. at The Spire Theater in Jamestown. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

During location scouting for “Empire”, the production team was in need of a vast and detailed natural cave setting. It quickly became clear that one of the primary locations needed was the beautiful Panama Rocks of Western New York.

Key events in “Empire” invite the audience to a vast labyrinthian world located beneath Jamestown. The technological sequences involving caverns are actually a combination of many different elements in filming. Panama Rocks fulfills a large portion of these elements.

Mixed with the rocky Western New York landscape are 25 custom-built miniature and life-size film sets to immerse the audience in the story.

The unique sets the film utilizes contain many of the same tried-and-true techniques of old-time Hollywood films.

When River Carrington (Alyssa Raimondo) teams with Sarah Hindle (Patricia Culliton) to investigate the demise of a famed explorer, she learns of Sarah’s true intentions and attempts to make amends for her own mistakes.

Aided by Jesse Allen (Paul Schermerhorn), River battles Sarah and her partner Jack (Steve Johnson) to uncover a truth that will shake her and the city to the core.

The film also features Don Hill, Kortney Young, Scott Slade, Tom Filsinger, William Kiel, Chris Miraglia, Michael Shackelford-Taylor II, M.K. Smith, and Frederick Williams.

It was written, directed, and produced by Matthew B. Swanson, and co-produced by Paul Schermerhorn.