A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away - a galaxy called Wadsworth, Illinois to be exact - Patrick Read Johnson was a 17-year-old sci-fi nerd making Super-8 movies in his backyard and dreaming of following in the footsteps of Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick.

But not every journey is a straight shot through hyperspace, and Johnson's autobiographical coming-of-age tale, 5-25-77, is as much a story about tenaciously holding onto one's dreams as it is about growing up during the dawn of sci-fi's golden era.

The six-years-in-the-making indie flick has taken on almost mythical status among Star Wars fans, with Internet wags at one point suggesting it didn't actually exist. (The title, which was changed to simply '77 before being switched back again, is the date the original Star Wars was released.)

But it does exist. I've seen it. And you might be able to, too.