As children, Luke Pilgrim and Brad Kennedy loved action, adventure and science-fiction films. In particular, a couple of their favorites were “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” directed by Steven Spielberg and “Goonies” with the story written by Spielberg.

As a homage to those movies and others like it, the two friends and brains behind Dahlonega-based Sozo Bear Films are exploring some of those same themes in their new short film, “Sunnyside Drive.”

“We basically had this idea to make something that was reminiscent of the films we watched in our childhood ... that kind of childhood adventure movie,” Pilgrim said.

To do that, the movie-making duo reached out to friend and fellow University of North Georgia student, Adam Neal. Kennedy and Pilgrim gave Neal their ideas for the concept and he went to work drafting a script.

“We talked to him about writing the screenplay for us,” Pilgrim said, adding the trio went back and forth tweaking drafts and brainstorming before finalizing the film’s premise.

Ultimately, the movie’s main concept focuses on an imaginative boy who lived in a picturesque suburb trying to convince his mother that the new neighbor is a robot.

According to the filmmakers, “Sunnyside Drive” is a family film that’s a moral tale. The biggest theme is not jumping to conclusions.

“It seems like a simple or commonly used theme, possibly ... but it’s a different way to tell that story,” Kennedy said. “When you’re seeing something from outside that circle, when you’re seeing something from a distance, you can easily judge it when really your beliefs are a little bit misguided.”

For the antagonist, Kennedy and Pilgrim turned to Ryan Littman, who starred in the duo’s last film “The Apology Service.”

Littman portrays the neighbor, who moves into a home on the same street as the boy. The neighbor is described as completely bald, very pale and wears all white.

“He was really excited to jump into that role and play that character,” Pilgrim said of Littman.

The 32-year-old portrayed a suave and handsome man in “Apology Service.” But in “Sunnyside Drive,” the role required him to alter his usual look and take on more of a “freaky” appearance. The actor also had to shave his head, Pilgrim said.

“We had crew members who had worked with him before and they got to set and thought that it was someone they didn’t know,” Kennedy said, remarking how well the actor changed his appearance for this film.

Playing the lead role of the boy is Grady Port, who was chosen for the role over seven or eight boys after the filmmakers put a casting announcement online for the role. Eventually the casting call was posted to a page for actors with East Coast Talent — the agency Port is signed with — and Port’s mother reached out.

On screen, Port portrays the character named Ash.

“He did a great job, he was very professional,” Kennedy said. “He was really good at taking directions and brought a lot to the table as well ... he brought his own flavor to the character.”

Pilgrim and Kennedy had never worked with a child actor prior to “Sunnyside Drive” but were pleased with Port’s performance.

“This kid is on a journey to discover the truth about this guy and he’s trying to convince his mother that the neighbor is not what he seems and he’s watching what this guy does and he’s correlating it with this comic book,” Pilgrim said.

In the film Ash is a sci-fi fanatic and is comparing what’s going on with his neighbor with what he’s reading in his comic book.

The film draws on some sci-fi concepts, which is not uncommon to Sozo Bear Films’ previous work such as “Apology Service,” which was released as a short film last year.

“It’s rooted in reality,” Kennedy said. “Apology Service was more sci-fi concepts in the everyday world. This one is more sci-fi concepts in the child’s imagination.”

To couple with the boy’s imagination, the filmmakers decided to develop an original score for “Sunnyside Drive.” The score is still being produced.

“The thing about those movies we loved growing up was the music,” Pilgrim said. “The sound was 50 percent of why you loved it, those iconic ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Jurassic Park’, those iconic songs and melodies. We’re hoping to be able to take it to the next level with that aspect.”

Once the script was written and actors cast, the owners of Sozo Bear Films had to find the perfect location. Luckily, Pilgrim had the idea to use his grandfather’s lake houses on Lake Chatuge early in the production process.

“We needed two houses, the kid’s house and the neighbor’s house in the story,” he said. “It was kind of difficult to find two houses across the street from each other that would let us jump in there and film for a few days.”

Since his grandfather owns the two nearby homes, Pilgrim and Kennedy conducted test shots there. After that, they knew they had their location.

“It wasn’t as suburban-looking as we initially pictured, but it ended up working really well,” Pilgrim said.

For three days in early June, Pilgrim and Kennedy filmed “Sunnyside Drive” in Hiawassee. Earlier this month, the film was in rough cuts. Pilgrim and Kennedy said it will spend a few more months in post-production with the hope of completing it this fall.

“We’re going to submit to festivals but probably not as many as “Apology Service,” Pilgrim said. “Our goal is to make this as great as we can. This is more of a passion project, but it’s what we want to eventually be known for.”

Currently, the duo has been recognized for the film “Apology Service,” which was accepted into the Macon Film Festival on July 21-24. It will premiere during the Student Film Block from 10 a.m. to 11:35 a.m. Friday at the Douglas Theater, 355 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Macon. A second showing will be between 3 and 4 p.m. Saturday at the Macon-Bibb Convention & Visitors Bureau, 450 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Macon.

For tickets and more information, visit www.maconfilmfestival.com.

“We were really excited because we had heard from some film festivals already saying no, so it was kind of that confirmation for us saying, ‘Yes we made it.’ We’re excited to go down there and be part of the whole event,” Kennedy said.

They are still waiting to hear back from other film festivals. Kennedy and Pilgrim said they submitted the film to large and small festivals, including the internationally known Sundance Film Festival.

In the meantime, Kennedy and Pilgrim, who met while attending UNG in Dahlonega, are working daily on other projects, commercials, videos and wedding films. Kennedy, a Trenton, Ga. native, and Pilgrim, of Cleveland, own Sozo Bear Films. Their videography company makes anything from commercials to films to wedding videos.

“We’re trained as filmmakers and storytellers,” Kennedy said.

Both agreed they work hard to tell a creative and compelling story for whatever project they’re working on. As part of their business, they get to know their clients to tell an interesting story.

“Even though we make our own short films and they are stories, we want to be able to tell a compelling story for a commercial or a music video or a wedding,” Kennedy said. “Even the orientation (made for UNG) film we tried to keep in funny. There’s a lot of information, but it’s also entertaining.”

And storytelling and filmmaking is their passion.

“(We have) lots of projects going on at the same time,” Pilgrim said. “We want to make films and not just make commercials or just make commercial projects.”