By Lindsay Peyton

A cross-country tour kicked off in Seattle this week -- with a double-feature screening at the Northwest Film Forum on Thursday, June 2.

Two childhood best friends turned filmmaking business partners are setting off on their next great adventure – and celebrating the epic path life has taken them so far.

In 1982, Chris Strompolos, 11, connected with Eric Zala, 12, over comics and a mutual love for the film “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Not long after they met, the kids, both residents of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, decided to take on a massive project -- a scene-by-scene remake of their favorite movie, copying every shot, stunt and line of dialogue.

They would spend the next seven summers on the endeavor – transforming their homes into sets and their friends into extras. They made their own props, staged elaborate fires and produced special effects galore with the help of their creative sidekick Jayson Lamb.

The trio built the Ark, painted hieroglyphics and collected costumes – all while going through adolescence, graduating high school, experiencing their first loves and figuring out what their next steps in life would be.

Their journey has been turned into a documentary, “Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made” by Jeremy Coon and Tim Skousen.

Strompolos said he had been approached before about making a movie. “It just wasn’t the right time or the right match,” he said. “It didn’t feel like all the pieces were there. But I knew Jeremy was the one to tell the story correctly – and carry it to the finish line.”

The movie follows the filmmaking trio when they reunite after two decades to finally finish the project. They had one final scene to complete – the exploding airplane at the end, and the documentary tracks their struggle to find the resources and time necessary to wrap the film.

The documentary also describes the behind-the-scenes of the filmmakers’ childhoods.

Strompolos was young when his parents divorced. He took refuge in fiction, as he states in the film: “I started feeling more comfortable in a fantasy world.”

And he recalls first watching “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” saying, “I saw the movie, and it just split me in half.”

Zala had always been into comics – and even drew his own. He also had developed an interest in filmmaking, working on projects in middle school.

For Strompolos and Zala to finish their film “Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation” they reconvened in Mississippi and set up the scene in a dirt quarry, complete with a life-size replica of the plane – and struggled with the weather.

“We had to build roads to get there,” Strompolos said. “There are a handful of things that changed me – certainly “Raiders,” getting married and having kids – but those days in that pit altered me.”

Zala said revisiting the project as an adult was a different experience. “When we were kids, there was a naiveté, we didn’t know what we were getting into,” he said. “This time, we did.”

But as children, they had learned to push out the voices of self-doubt and forge ahead – and the lesson stuck with them.

Now Strompolos and Zala are taking both their final film and the documentary on the road, screening double-features in 42 states and hoping to inspire others to follow their dreams.

“Northwest Film Forum seemed like an appropriate place to kick off the tour,” Zala said.

The duo recently started “Rolling Boulder Films,” a media and production company. They plan to work on original films in the future – and hope to make use of the dream team they assembled for “Raiders!”

 “There’s still that childhood feeling of ‘Can we pull it off?’” Strompolos said.

But they know that they can – the proof is in the finished DVD and “Raiders! The Book,” which came out as a hardback in 2012. A paperback is going to be released soon.

“We don’t want to lose sight of our real source of strength, which is teamwork and friendship,” Zala said. “It’s not something for everyone -- to spend your childhood remaking a film. But it’s served us well.”

Seattle residents can catch both films in screenings planned for Friday, June 17 through Sunday, June 19 at Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave. For times and more information, visit www.nwfilmforum.org.

For more information about the tour, merchandise and the filmmakers, visit www.raidersguys.com.