Creators of the film "Clerks," which will hit Boston theaters today, spoke about their experiences making the film at an Institute of Politics study group yesterday.

Writer and director Kevin Smith and producer Scott Mosier said they originally intended the film to be only a "calling card."

But when the piece recently won prizes at both the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals, the game for Smith and Mosier dramatically changed.

After the film's success at two of the movie world's most prestigious festivals, Miramax bought the rights to distribute the independent film.

The film, which Smith wrote in a week, is based on his six years of experience working in a convenience store.

Smith, a self-described "movie rat" dropped out of film school in Vancouver to make his movie in New Jersey on a budget of $27,000.

The money for the film came from credit card loans, the sale of Smith's comic book collection and a loan from Mosier's parents.

Although it contains no explicit sex or violence, "Clerks" was originally rated NC-17 based solely on its language.

The movie's rating was changed to R after Miramax and Frankfurter Professor of Law Alan M. Dershowitz successfully contested the NC-17 rating, calling it "the kiss of death."

Smith said the incident helped to publicize the film because "in the same week we got the NC-17, 'Natural Born Killers' got an R."

Smith and Mosier have already contracted to do two studio movies: "Mall Rats" for Universal and "Dogma" for Miramax.

When asked if they could maintain their independent style in their future films, Smith said, "to some degree, but we've sold out."

According to Smith, "Clerks" has been lauded by critics who have called it a "film about consumption in American society."

But Smith says critics have read too much into the film. "Clerks' isn't about anything at all, certainly not about consumption," Smith said. "When I heard that I thought, 'what--the disease?'"

Smith and Mosier replaced fellow offbeat filmmaker Quentin Tarantino as guest speakers at yesterday's study group.

Tarantino had been invited to talk with the group about his new film "Pulp Fiction."