Emmy-nominated actor Barry Corbin, whose many screen credits include "Urban Cowboy" and "No Country for Old Men," likes his co-star to be a real beauty: a horse.

That made him the ideal actor for "Trail End," a short film written, directed and produced by Shannan Keenan of Simi Valley

Keenan's 25-minute short film will screen Sunday at Method Fest in Calabasas. The 10th annual film festival, which runs today through April 3, highlights acting in independent films.

In "Trail End," Corbin, whose face you might recognize even if you don't know his name (he received supporting-actor Emmy nominations for "Northern Exposure"), plays Hank Crow, an ailing cowboy who takes a final journey with his aging Appaloosa, Chip.

Crow saves the last arduous trail ride for his home state of Kansas. To fulfill a promise made to his late wife, Crow vows to reach the trail's end.

Those who might dismiss "Trail End" as another cowboy-and-horse tale would miss the real core of the film, which conveys contrasting dimensions of love, whether it's between man and woman, man and horse, or man and nature.

Sweeping views of the western Kansas plains make "Trail End" a travelogue in disguise, according to Eugene and Myra Marks of Thousand Oaks, who saw the film recently at the Motion Picture and Television Fund campus in Woodland Hills.

"Anybody I show it to — and I've shown it to a lot of people — were surprised to find out Shannan is a young woman, not old like me," said Corbin, speaking by phone from his "little ranch of 15 acres" in Fort Worth, Texas. "It is very perceptive about old people. It's a good, entertaining short."

Keenan, who reluctantly admits to being 36, said the inspiration for the film "initially came from the desire to write a story that captured the relationship I have with my own horses and to show that friendship is not limited to humans."

Because her mother was reared in western Kansas, and the family farmed for a living, Keenan wanted to highlight the state's assets.

"Many scoff at the notion that the word beautiful' and Kansas can be in the same sentence," she said, "but I know more about some of the gems the state holds secret. I knew it would be amazing to reveal these stunning visuals on film."

Shot entirely on location in Kansas, whose state song is "Home on the Range," the film spotlights such locations as Lane Country, Gypsum Hills, Lake Scott, Wichita and the Kansas Nature Conservancy's Smoky Valley Ranch.

On-site footage helped Keenan and her Just Hank Productions company land a grant from the state of Kansas, along with aid from Kodak and Panavision.

Finding the right actor and horse were vital. "I needed an actor who could act, ride a horse and was old enough to play the part, but not so old he would fall off," Keenan said. "For me, Barry will always be Uncle Bob from Urban Cowboy,' but I also knew him from the nearly gazillion other roles he has done." She then discovered that Corbin, who plays Whitey Durham on the CW series "One Tree Hill," was "a real horseman, not a movie cowboy."

Cameras rolled in May 2006 during a challenging and sometimes grueling week that included 20 locations and 1,000 miles of travel. Post-production took one year, Keenan said.

When "Trail End" debuted in August at the Crested Butte Reel Festival in Colorado, it earned the First Place Audience Award. After that it was accepted into nine other festivals and has earned additional accolades.

At the Sedona International Film Festival, "Trail End" won third place out of 60 shorts in the Audience Choice competition.

Other honors include the Gala Award at the Moondance International Film Festival in Hollywood; Director's Best of the Festival Award at the TriMedia Film Festival in Fort Collins, Colo.; and best short and audience awards at the Estes Park Film Festival in Colorado.

The film was shown nine times for horse lovers at the Championship World Appaloosa Show in October in Fort Worth, Texas.

Keenan, who has a day job as coordinator for the office of corporations, foundations and sponsored programs at Pepperdine University in Malibu, said her goal is to keep showing "Trail End" at film festivals until she lands a cable distribution deal.

You might say that the trail hasn't yet ended for "Trail End."