Anyone with a story to tell can film a movie, according to Banks Helfrich.

In town for the annual George Lindsey University of North Alabama Film Festival, the award-winning Florida filmmaker spoke with Staff Writer Michelle Rupe Eubanks about how almost anyone can break into the movie business.

Q: When and why did you get in the business?

A: I got into the business about 15 years ago because I saw a movie called “The Brothers McMullen” by Edward Burns. He made the film for $25,000, and I thought it was so expensive to make films, and he made one for $25,000. The first one I made was about $40,000. Nowadays, it’s much cheaper because everything is shot on video and not shot on film. With film, you had to buy it, send it off, get it processed and convert it to something you could use in an editing bay. It was a process that took months. Now, you shoot a film, take the card out of the camera and you can it put on your computer and see what you shot immediately.

Q: Can anybody become a filmmaker?

A: That’s absolutely accurate. We all have stories, and telling those stories is the way we pass to our kids what happens in our lives. YouTube is one way we pass these stories to them. And we shoot with camera phones, cameras, anything ... and it’s amateur hour, but it’s so much better.

Q: What must you have to begin a project?

A: You have to start with an idea, and then you need a camera or a camera phone. You can buy a Flip for $150, and you plug it right into computer. The next thing is something to give it sound. You should spend the same amount on a microphone you spent on the camera. Apple computers have iMovie, which is the basis for editing and cutting film. You can put text, graphics, fade to black, all of those tricks of editing. Then you need to hook up to the Internet, and you can send it to film festivals or put it on YouTube.

Q: How important are festivals and how likely will movies shown at them end up on big screen?

A: It’s a seed in order to get to big screen. As a filmmaker who goes to festivals like in Florence, my stuff can be seen by people here, and it’s a great tool to meet and talk to and learn how others did what they did and how you can, too. “Nine” was shown at the festival four years ago, and it was later seen by (director) Tim Burton and made into a full-length motion picture. It’d be great if something like that would happen to one of my films. As a filmmaker, you want people to see and connect to your film and connect to you because it’s a representation of yourself.

Helfrich’s film, “The Ah of Life” will be screened at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Zodiac Theater in Florence.