The Cable Car Cinema on Monday will begin an open-run engagement of the documentary 41, which looks at the short life of Nicholas O’Neill, who was the youngest Station nightclub fire victim, including the plays he wrote and the strange set of incidents that have occurred since his death. The same day, 41 will be released on DVD for $14.95.

Originally, co-director Christian de Rezendes had started out to make only a short film about O’Neill’s tragically shortened life, concentrating on Nicky’s family and friends who were going to share their thoughts. It was first shown in 2005 as a 44-minute work in progress at Woonsocket’s Stadium Theater, accompanying de Rezendes’ feature-length video version of They Walk Among Us, young O’Neill’s play about overcoming intolerance which had previously been staged at the Stadium.

But when a series of strange coincidences revolving around the number 41, Nicky’s favorite number, began touching his own life, de Rezendes expanded his vision and turned the film into a feature with Christian O’Neill, Nicky’s older half brother, as his co-director.

The first half of 41 seems very much a family affair, since it mainly includes home movie footage of Nicky at various stages of his life, as well as interviews with family and friends. But the second half of the nearly two-hour film takes on an eerie quality, exploring odd coincidences that have been noticed following Nicky’s death, pondering Nicky’s writings that seem to contain a premonition of his death, even bringing in mediums in hopes of bridging the line between life and death. There’s also the strange recurrence of the number 41, which keeps turning up in the lives of Nicky’s friends and relatives, sometimes in the strangest places.

The film has played film festivals on Cape Cod and in Canada, where it won the best narrative documentary award at the Blue Mountain Film Festival.

Recently formed NEHST Studios is releasing the film and hopes for a national rollout in the near future. The film is available for sale on their Web site — www.nehst.com.