Submitted photo A poster for “Max Bishop” features actor Chris Charais as Max Bishop and actress Iris Seifert as Lucy. The movie was partially filmed in New Ulm. School scenes featuring the purple lockers were shot on location at Jefferson Elementary

NEW ULM — Three years ago, New Ulm native Jack Beranek wrote and directed the film “Max Bishop.” On June 1 it will be available for view to a wide audience.

The film received a U.S. distribution and will be available on-demand in the U.S. on Amazon, Vudu, DirecTV, inDemand, and Dish.

“Max Bishop” is a quirky, dark comedy starring Minnesota actors Chris Charais, Iris Seifert and Katie Troske. Charais plays Max Bishop, an unemployed hitman who finds work as a janitor at the local elementary school.

Beranek wrote and directed the film with a crew of colleagues he had met and worked with since his first feature film at age 17.

The film’s creator is not only from New Ulm, several scenes from the movie were filmed in New Ulm between May 2018 and October 2018.

Jefferson Elementary was a stand-in for several interior scenes set at the school, but other locations include Washington Learning Center, the John Lind House and a few exterior shots in Goosetown.

Beranek said you can see the former train depot in the background of some shots. A few scenes in the movie were shot in the Twin Cities and one early scene was filmed nearby in Franklin.

Beranek said the Franklin scene was the last thing filmed for the movie. The film crew was having difficulty finding a place to film the scene, but producer Steven Sherman found a suitable place in his hometown of Franklin.

Despite the film being completed nearly three years ago, screenings of the film have been limited until recently. A work-in-progress cut of “Max Bishop” was screened at the 2019 Twin Cities Film Festival. It was the second film to sell out its screening, behind only Oscar-winner “Jojo Rabbit.”

Beranek said part of the delay in getting the film to a regular audience was trying to establish a distribution deal.

“This was my first time going through the distribution process,” Beranek said. “It took a lot of research with actor Chris Charais.”

In November 2019, Beranek and Charais flew to the American Film Market in Los Angeles to shop the movie for sales agents. Beranek said this can be a struggle as there are unscrupulous film distributors who take advantage of a filmmaker. He wanted to be careful.

After considering various offers, the team signed with the LA/NY-based sales agency Light House Distribution, which represents the film for domestic and international sales.

Light House has secured U.S. distribution through Los Angeles-based “SP Releasing” which also acquires and releases titles through a worldwide output deal with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

This distribution deal means that, as of June 1, people everywhere in the United States will be able to view “Max Bishop” from home through streaming services on Amazon, Vudu, DirecTV, inDemand and Dish.

For those wishing to see “Max Bishop” on the big screen, Beranek is hoping to someday bring his movie to New Ulm.

“I’d love to screen it here,” Beranek said. As more movie theaters reopen after the COVID pandemic, Beranek is confident the residents of New Ulm will be able to see their hometown on a big screen soon.