By Aaryn Souza | Masslive.com | September 23, 2024
Filmmaker Steven Grayhm at the Boston Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 20.Aaryn Souza/MassLive.com
A new film shot and set in Western Massachusetts debuted Friday at the 40th annual Boston Film Festival. Sheepdog, from local filmmaker Steven Grayhm, made its debut to dozens of local fans and military veterans alike.
The film was written, directed and stars Grayhm as a decorated combat veteran who is court ordered into treatment when an ex-convict shows up on his doorstep and reveals that he must put himself back together again
Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen (Sideways, The Candyman), Emmy nominee Vondie Curtis-Hall (Raymond & Ray, Falling Down), Tony nominee Lilli Cooper (Tootsie on Broadway), Dominic Fumusa (Nurse Jackie) and Matt Dallas (Kyle XY) also star in the drama.
Sheepdog was shot and takes place entirely in Western Massachusetts, including in Turners Falls, Montague and Greenfield. Much of the film takes place in Turners Falls, including the now defunct Turners Falls Paper mill, where filmmakers shot the opener and all of the scenes in the film’s local veterans affairs office. There are also plenty of shots of the natural beauty of Western Mass., which Grayhm described as his “love letter to Massachusetts” in the film’s post-screening Q&A.
Grayhm, who was born in Canada but now resides in Erving with his wife, said at the premier that he decided to shoot the film here because “[co-star Matt Dallas] and I had lunch together at [my wife’s] mother’s restaurant in Turner’s. We said our goodbyes and we were headed to Texas. And as I stepped out of her restaurant into this misty afternoon, I looked up and down Avenue A and that’s where I had the moment of ‘I think I’m going to shoot the movie here.’ And that was 2013.”
Grayhm and Dallas spent the better part of 12 years on a journey to make a film that focuses on the issues that veterans and their families face when returning home from war, including PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. The two interviewed hundreds of military vets from across the country and partnered with VA’s and other veterans nonprofit organizations like the Heroes Wellness Collective to tell an incredibly accurate story of how devastating war can be for veterans when they return home. But the film also shows in the same light how getting help can allow them to overcome the issues they face, dubbed Post Traumatic Growth.
“There’s just not very much material that tells the story of veterans, troops, and recovery and growth,” co-star Virginia Madsen recounted in the Q&A.
This was something that Grayhm was determined to change. He recounted a story of how, after a long shoot, his car broke down and he got a three-hour ride back home from a veteran who recounted stories of his life and struggles. That was when he decided to make a film that would shed light on veterans’ stories.
“I truly believe with my heart and soul that if we save even one life with this movie, then it’ll be the greatest Hollywood success,” Grayhm said after the showing on Friday.
“Every time we went back [to Massachusetts]… it always came down to the people. And everyone was just so generous and kind and curious and supportive and it’s as simple as that,” said Grayhm.
Sheepdog currently does not have a wide release date set.