Paul Sorvino shot his last movie in Jacksonville. It debuts Saturday in San Marco.

Actor Paul Sorvino appeared in more than 150 movies and TV shows in a career stretching back to 1970. Now Jacksonville will get the first shot at seeing his final film.

"The Ride," which was filmed in Jacksonville and produced by a long-time resident of the city, makes its debut Saturday at the 5th annual Southeast Regional Film Festival. It shows at 6 p.m. Saturday at the San Marco Theatre, and the screening is open to the public for $10. It also shows at 11:20 a.m. Sunday at Cinemark Tinseltown, but that showing is for festival attendees only.

"The Ride" stars Savanah Joeckel as a pregnant woman facing important life decisions. Dean Cain and D.B. Sweeney also star in the film. Sorvino and his wife, Dee Dee, play a couple (Paul and Dee) who help her along her way.

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Sorvino died July 25 at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. He was best known for his roles in "Goodfellas," "Law & Order," "Nixon," "Godfather of Harlem" and "Oh, God!"

Jessica Roszko, who lives in Jacksonville, was a producer on the film and is also producer of the film festival. She said the plan was always to shoot the film in Jacksonville. When she heard Sorvino was going to be in town — she didn't initially know it was for medical treatment — she jumped at the chance to add him to the cast.

"He really wanted to do it," Roszko said. "It was really a big difference having people like that on our set."

She said Sorvino was constantly singing on the set and he improvised a heartwarming speech that is included in the film.

"He just wanted everyone to be happy," Roszko said. "I think that’s why everyone loved him so much."

Most of the movie was filmed in the summer of 2021, working around the schedules of Sorvino and Cain. Additional scenes were shot this summer.

Roszko said none of it was shot on a soundstage. It was filmed in houses, on the streets and at gas stations. Sharp-eyed Jacksonville viewers might recognize the former Deerwood Deli and Diner (where the Sorvinos play the owners) and Parkwood Baptist Church. Downtown Jacksonville, the Beaches, Friendship Fountain and the city's bridges also appear in the film.

"I think we hit everything we need to hit to show the city," Roszko said.

"The Ride" is the first film that Roszko has produced. She said she spent nearly four years working on it. Early drafts of the film carried an R rating, something nearly unheard of for a Christian-themed movie. Roszko said it will be edited further so it can go into theaters with a PG-13 rating.

She said she will screen the film in Beverly Hills next month and hopes to find a distributor to take it nationwide.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Paul Sorvino's final film, The Ride, gets Jacksonville screening