Brian Plow stood on the edge of the red carpet that had been rolled out in his honor.

One hand clutching a drink, the other on the top of his young son's head, the York City filmmaker said he couldn't help but be nervous. Before Friday, just a handful of people had seen the 30-minute film it took Plow three years to finish.

"Butterflies all day," he said.

The Parliament, which hosted the premiere of "A Day in the Sun" at the Agricultural and Industrial Museum, had about 100 chairs set up for the event. Closer to 250 people showed.

By the time the film started, people were standing along walls and sitting on the floor.

"I am overwhelmed by how many people are in this room," Plow, 36, said into a microphone before the film began.

Thirty minutes later, as the credits rolled, a who's-who room of York City personalities erupted in applause. And then they stood up.

Plow credited Parliament - a local group that promotes York's art and music scene - with making the evening happen.

The group "picked me up and dusted me off" after he completed the film he began in late 2009.

"It's a long, lonely road doing a project like this," he said.

Plow is a film teacher at Towson University who moved to York in 2006. Almost immediately, he started working on a documentary about the construction of Sovereign Bank Stadium.

After tackling that controversial project, Plow said he wanted to do something a bit more positive. So he started talking to artists about a city program designed to draw creative people to town.

The finished product is a series of intimate interviews with nine artists who live in York.

One of them, musician and artist Lindsey Keeney said Friday that her nerves about the film had worn off a while ago. But she still couldn't believe it was such a great turnout for the premiere.

"I guess I thought it would be, but, ..." she said before trailing off in giggles.