There has been a disturbance in the force.

Three Sith lords duelled across several Vancouver Island locations in July for the right to serve a mysterious Sith known only as the Dark Lord, and 21-year-old director Quinton Foote has the footage to prove it.

鈥�(The film is looking) really good, beyond all my expectations,鈥� the aspiring filmmaker said. 鈥淥verall I couldn鈥檛 be (more) happy with how it鈥檚 going.鈥�

His Star Wars fan film , references a quote from Sith lord Darth Bane, the character who created the rule of two. One master to embody the power of the dark side, and one apprentice to crave it. Written by Foote over eight months, the 20-minute short follows three Sith dropped onto a mysterious planet and forced to duel for the right to be the lone apprentice.

鈥淔ans can expect (the themes) to relate to their life,鈥� the Nanaimo resident said. 鈥淏ut one that offers intense dialogue with riveting and exciting duels and dramatic endings.鈥�

Using lightsaber hilts screwed into white plastic blades, and many hand-built costumes from fabrics and pieces collected from Value Village and online, the team spent approximately $1,000 of their own money to fund the film. Hundreds of hours of sweat equity to build the Star Wars universe in Cathedral Grove, Nanaimo and Comox. He hopes to win a Telus Storyhive grant to turn the short into a web series. TCOBT will be released on YouTube by the end of the year.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really important to me to give people a reality to go live in somewhere new, exciting, full of adventure,鈥� Foote said. 鈥淭he best part of everything so far is me finding my passion. I can鈥檛 pick one thing over another it has been amazing鈥� I found a passion in writing and casting calls and costumes and now with editing. It has been so much fun.鈥�

With a sparse team of seven, well below the dozens of cast and crew often present on independent films and the hundreds on Hollywood films, Foote said the film was a labour of love. He hopes the fan film ultimately offers viewers an opportunity to step away from reality, and travel to a galaxy far, far away.

鈥淔or audiences my main goal is to give people (something) to watch at the end of a hard day forget their problems and enjoy a short film made by people passionate about it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my main goal in general to give people something to make them happy.鈥�