CineForge Co-op: A (bit of) Hollywood Comes Home
By Andy Carpenter
In 2022, just as I was beginning to take screenwriting seriously, I saw my first locally shot feature film: The Greatest Inheritance. I was invited to the premiere by a friend, and at the time, I knew nothing about the film or its cast. After the screening, a heartfelt story of a family learning to accept one another, forgive, love, and embrace their differences following their mother’s death, several actors and the director participated in a Q&A panel. It was there I learned that one of the film’s stars, Meredith Riley Stewart—who delivered both a hilarious and deeply vulnerable performance—is a local talent who has built her career as a full-time actor and producer in California.
Since that premiere, I’ve come to know Meredith not only as a talented and authentic actor, but as a genuinely kind and generous person. Over the years, she has offered advice and encouragement while continuing to push forward with her own work.
In early March, I learned that a new production was coming to Columbus—one that Meredith would both star in and produce. I recently caught up with her to talk about the project, Breaking Joy, which carries the tagline, “When you’ve lost everything, hope finds a way.” The film is adapted from the novel Topping the Willow by Lori Closter, who co-wrote the screenplay with Meredith’s co-producer, Justen Overlander.
Without giving too much away, “Breaking Joy” follows the journey of a teenager who is traveling with her family when they are involved in a car crash. While her parents are recovering, she is sent to a horse farm, where through bonding with a tough-to-break horse, has to learn to face her reality and heal.
Meredith’s enthusiasm for returning home for “Breaking Joy” was apparent during our discussion, and I expect it to be contagious on set. The storyteller in me wanted to know what drew her to this project; her answers centered on the universal themes of struggles within family, recognizing and accepting people for who they are, and looking back at your early experiences and coming to have a greater understanding, and and appreciation of you and your family’s journey.
Meredith stresses the importance of providing purposeful, quality material to a younger female audience, which resonates in Lori’s story and Alexandra’s writing, perhaps owing to Alexandra and her sister growing up as preacher’s kids and knowing that faith is a way of life, not just a lesson taught.
As preproduction ramps up, Meredith and Justen have events planned, where they hope to not just gain support for “Breaking Joy,” but to build networking opportunities and champion filmmaking; Building on their foundation of faith and community network, as they continue to cast for both main characters as well as background and extras. By the time this movie hits the screen, there is a high probability that some local faces will be present, which is pretty exciting.
“Breaking Joy” is a mix of union and non-union cast and crew, which creates a fantastic opportunity for up and coming filmmakers to work with seasoned, film-industry veterans. “Breaking Joy” is an indie film, meaning it has a lower-end budget that will be stretched thin and every dollar will be maximized for the best production value. Meredith and her team will rely on volunteers, and could use help securing locations, meal donations, drivers for airport runs, an on-set teacher, lodging for actors, and vehicles to be in the movie.
Oh, and horses. They need horses.
To get in touch with the crew visit: bit.ly/breakingjoy.
There is a phrase about filmmaking; every movie is three movies – the script, what gets filmed, and lastly, the edited version. But what is not accounted for in that phrase, for me at least, is the most important piece – the community that comes together to make a film happen, and which remains after it’s released.
Meredith and her team chose Columbus to make their movie, to bring a little bit of Hollywood here. Let’s help them bring a little piece of Columbus to the world.