| FINDING HER WAY HOME (an original script by Charity Barger)
"Finding Her Way Home" is a story about a young woman who has to come to terms with her life, after 10 years of running away from the night she was a victim of rape. This film is being filmed in the Fort Walton Beach, Florida area. "We have high hopes for the film" says producer and writer, Charity Barger. "We have been in contact with RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) and will be holding a large premiere in the area to raise funds so that RAINN can continue to help those who have been a victim, themselves." Clips from Finding Her Way Home were featured at the Sandhandle Media Festival on December 10th, 2010 including Q&A with Charity Barger, Producer/Writer; Michael Fletcher, Director; Ron Little, Director of Photography/Editor and Jeremy Hosbein, Male Lead. TEASER TRAILER OF FINDING HER WAY HOME CHARITY BARGER'S INTERVIEW ON 30A ABOUT UPCOMING MOVIE FINDING HER WAY HOME. Update on "Finding Her Way Home" Finding Her Way Home is officially in post-production. As it gets closer to the finished product, we will post more about the upcoming premiere. The official website for the movie is up, so go to www.findingherwayhome.com to see more. Do you FACEBOOK??? Join the "Finding Her Way Home" page on facebook and keep up with the actors, crew and local reaction of this upcoming film. Independent Filmmaker Finds Her Way Home by Joey Amspacher
 A DEEPLY PERSONAL FILM COMES TO LIFE IN HOLT The rise of digital filmmaking technology has predictably led to a surge in the production of independent films. With each passing year, the gap between production budget and quality onscreen narrows, resulting in more and more promising productions popping up locally. Charity Barger is only 27 but is already an accomplished writer. She has written two novels and published a collection of poetry. She's now looking to add "film producer" to her resume as she spearheads production of "Finding Her Way Home," an independent film that began filming in July in Holt. "The film is based around this young woman who, ten years earlier, was a victim of rape," says Barger. "After that she left her hometown without telling any of her family or friends what happened, and she's returning for the first time after ten years to her hometown." "Finding Her Way Home" is Barger's first attempt at writing and producing a feature film. She's been acting since a young age though, and has always been more interested in film than theater. "I feel like film gives you the opportunity to dive into emotions that you can't really do in theater," says Barger. "I was lucky enough to stumble into film in St. Louis a couple of years ago, working both in front of and behind the camera. I worked on quite a few films up there and when I came down here I wanted to continue working in that field, so I started this project." Barger was inspired to write the film based partly on her own life experience. Not one to turn away inspiration when it strikes, she received her final muse while asleep. "I had a dream one night of a young woman who was returning home feeling kind of lost and alone because of things that had happened to her," explains Barger. "And I had been in that position before in my life. So a lot of it parallels some things that I went through. It all started with that dream." Naturally, heavy subject matter like rape creates a unique set of struggles among the cast and crew. Unlike a comedy or more lighthearted fare, these stories are harder to shake after the filming is over. "It's definitely difficult, especially because it's something I wrote and it means something to me," says Barger. "It's hard to show up every day and leave feeling happy. But we really believe in the film, so it's fun to come to work every day." Local actor Jeremy Hosbein has endured his own challenges working on his second film. Displaying real and powerful emotion takes its toll on an actor, but that's also what makes acting so satisfying for many. "The funeral scene we shot last weekend was challenging personally, because I've only been to one funeral in my life," admits Hosbein. "I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to cry on command. It all worked out though. "It's been difficult, and many times we've had intense scenes that draw a lot of emotion. They drain me physically and mentally. But having the support of the cast and the bond we've developed has helped out a lot. We're able to support each other once cut' has been called." As the film's production nears an end, both Hosbein and Barger have been quite pleased with the results so far. They both contend that the digital HD cameras wielded by director of photography, Ron Little, are producing great results. "The snippets I've seen have just been incredible," says Hosbein. "I couldn't be more pleased with Ron Little. Charity has been a blast to work with as well, and I really hope to work with her again." "The cast has been amazing," adds Barger. "We couldn't ask for a better group of actors." As of now, there are no concrete plans for releasing the film or distribution, but Barger and company are in the process of ironing that out. They hope to utilize a large local premiere to raise funds for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). "We don't have an exact date yet," says Barger. "But we're looking at the end of the year for our big premiere. After that, we're going to just sort of go with the flow. "We want people to feel real emotion when they see this film. It really means something to all of us, and that's why we do it. It's been very difficult, but the further along we get and the more excited people become, the happier I am about the project." joey@inweekly.net UPCOMING: Lights, camera, action in Holt
HOLT — It’s the end of another school year and just three days until graduation. Students are eagerly anticipating the big end-of-school bonfire and party before starting summer vacation. The halls of Holt School are lined with decorations and posters wishing graduating seniors well. The only incongruity is that Holt School has been closed for several years. But for several weeks this summer, the hallways of the handsome old 1940s building again echo with the sounds of student exuberance. This time around, however, the students are actors and the balloons and posters on the walls are properties hung for a film being shot in the community. When St. Louis native, writer and film professional Charity Ann Barger’s husband, an airman, got transferred to Hurlburt Field, she realized something was missing in her new life. Living in Fort Walton Beach, Barger noticed a dearth of film opportunities in the area, despite a local movie-making tradition dating back to the 1940s when Crestview doubled for England in the World War II adventure “Twelve O’Clock High.” The film quite literally is a dream project. Barger dreamed the story one night. “I woke up and started writing it, and it’s developed since then,” she said. She wrote a screenplay and got some backing. Because she wanted it to have a Southern ambience, Barger searched the region for a good location — and found it in Holt. Near the beginning of July, Barger, her cast and her crew arrived in Holt and began making “Finding Her Way Home.” “It is the story of a young rape victim who must come to terms with her life when she returns to her hometown, family and friends after a 10-year absence,” Barger said. Heavy stuff, but the cast and crew are having blast. Much of the shooting is taking place in Holt School and the former Jones Drug Store down the street. Both properties are owned by Ronnie Watts, a local real estate agent, who has donated the use of the locations. The cast is entirely from the area, and includes Carly Spade, Jeremy Hosbein, Michael Johnson, Jessica Condi, Jason Condi, Sheryse Williams, Dean Hinton and Bob Stubblefield. Barger has a role in the film as well. Director Michael Fletcher helms the production. Director of photography Ron Little and assistant camera operator John Strickland are behind the high-definition video cameras. Barger hopes production will wrap later this week. Then comes the editing and getting “Finding Her Way Home” ready for exhibition. “Our first big thing is to have our large premiere, then we’re looking into local film festivals,” Barger said. “That will be our first option. Then we’ll look into local distributors and go from there.” Barger promises a large regional premiere that will also be a fund-raiser for RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). But first, all of Barger and her production company’s attention is devoted to Holt and shooting her dream film. Read the full story in the Aug. 5 edition of the Crestview News Bulletin To learn more about writer and film producer Charity Barger and “Finding Her Way Home,” visit www.charityannbarger.com. Lights, camera, action! Indie film shot in Holt| Recommend 0 August 06, 2009 1:31 PM
Florida Freedom Newspapers HOLT — It’s the end of another school year and just three days until graduation. Students are eagerly anticipating the big bonfire and party before summer vacation. The halls of Holt School are lined with decorations and posters wishing graduating seniors well.
The only incongruity is that Holt School has been closed for 26 years. But for several weeks this summer, the hallways of the handsome 1940s building again echo with the sounds of student exuberance.
However, the students are actors and the balloons and posters on the walls are props hung for a film being shot in the community.
When St. Louis native, writer and film professional Charity Ann Barger’s husband, an airman, got transferred to Hurlburt Field, she realized something was missing in her new life.
Living in Fort Walton Beach, Barger noticed a dearth of film opportunities in the area, despite a local movie-making tradition dating back to the 1940s when Crestview doubled for England in the World War II adventure “Twelve O’Clock High.”
“Film is kind of scarce out here. I moved here and it wasn’t here, and I thought I’d do something about that. I wanted to see if I could put a project together,” Barger said. “It kind of blew up to something a lot bigger, quickly.”
The film quite literally is a dream project. Barger dreamed the story one night.
“I woke up and started writing it, and it’s developed since then,” she said.
She wrote a screenplay and got some backing. Because she wanted it to have a Southern ambience, Barger searched the region for a good location — and found it in Holt.
“Holt worked out perfectly,” Barger said.
Barger, her cast and her crew arrived in Holt in early July and began making “Finding Her Way Home.”
“It is the story of a young rape victim who must come to terms with her life when she returns to her hometown, family and friends after a 10-year absence,” Barger said.
Heavy stuff, but the cast and crew are having blast. Much of the shooting is taking place in Holt School and the former Jones Drug Store down the street. Both properties are owned by Ronnie Watts, a local real estate agent who has donated the use of the locations.
“He’s been so great to us,” Barger said.
The cast is entirely from the area. It includes Carly Spade, Jeremy Hosbein, Michael Johnson, Jessica Condi, Jason Condi, Sheryse Williams, Dean Hinton and Bob Stubblefield. Barger has a role as well.
Between Craig’s List and Carol’s Curtain Call, a regional theater Web site, Barger assembled her cast and crew.
“They do all the theater stuff and everything that has to do with acting,” Barger said. “We didn’t think we’d be able to do it that easily, but it worked. It’s pretty amazing.”
Director Michael Fletcher helms the production. Director of photography Ron Little and assistant camera operator John Strickland are behind the high-definition video cameras.
Barger praised her cast, all of whom are performing for the experience of acting in a film.
“We have a lot of actors who have just been in theater, and this is their first experience with film, and they’ve just been loving it,” Barger said. “I hope it gives them the passion to keep doing film.”
Barger hopes production will wrap later this week. Then comes the editing and getting “Finding Her Way Home” ready for exhibition.
“Our first big thing is to have our large premiere, then we’re looking into local film festivals,” Barger said. “That will be our first option. Then we’ll look into local distributors and go from there.”
Barger promises a large regional premiere that will also be a fundraiser for RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network).
But for now all of Barger and her production company’s attention is devoted to Holt and shooting her dream film.
“We love the location,” Barger said. “We’re having fun, and we love the people we’ve met.”
According to Little, “Finding Her Way Home” is just the beginning. A production company from Texas may use Holt as a location for a film shooting in the Panhandle next month, he said. TO LEARN MORE
For more information about about writer and film producer Charity Barger and “Finding Her Way Home,” at www.charityannbarger.com. Here a couple more articles to look at... Brian Hughes of the Crestview News Bulletin visited our set this last weekend. Read his news story at the link below. If you have a facebook account, join us, and let us know what you think about the upcoming film and what you have heard so far. Behind the Scenes... The Cast Carly Spade .........Melissa Jeremy Hosbein....Greg Michael Johnson....Jack Charity Barger........Tiffany Jessica Condi.........Robin Jason Condi............Matt Sheryse Rehn....Mrs. Paxton Dean Hinton............Mr. Paxton Bob Stubblefield......Mr. Trevors The Couples... Greg and Melissa Jack and Tiffany Matt and Robin Meet the Parents... Mr. and Mrs. Paxton (Melissa's Mom and Dad) Mr. Trevors (Greg's Father) More Pics of the Cast.... | |