'The Shoes of Hayim' to premier on Thursday

WESTSIDE -- On Thursday, June 5, at 7 p.m., the short film shot in Gravette, "The Shoes of Hayim," will premiere in Northwest Arkansas at the Razorback Malco Cinema.

In May, "The Shoes of Hayim" was an official selection at the Little Rock Film Festival 2014 where it received an incredible review from a soldier, Michael Cunningham, in the documentaries, "Restrepo" and "Korengal."

A portion of that review follows:

"From the very first second of this film, the images it shows elicit a sense of old fashioned Americana: the kinds of places complete with middle of nowhere stop signs, tall pale grass, mobile homes and lonely barking dogs; places where you grew up, with your family, your friends and went to school; places many of us see before we enlist in the military to go off and fight in a war. The film manages to touch bases on some level all of the relationships that military service can affect and the feelings which can often arise from such interaction. It gleams through the many different possible themes of heartache, anger, turmoil and hope that we can experience in the aftermath of returning home from a war zone. It also tackles the struggle we go through to cope with feelings of guilt and to try and make sense our loss of those that did not come home."

The Little Rock Film Festival is not the only stop for "The Shoes of Hayim." On May 3, a special screening was held for the 871st Troop Command at Fort Chaffee in Fort Smith by the request of Chaplain Josiah Burns. The makers of the film have already begun to submit the project to film festivals in the United States and abroad. On May 27, the producers of "The Shoes of Hayim" announced via Facebook that the film is an official selection for the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival set for June 25-29.

"The film was shot completely in Arkansas, highlighting Gravette as its primary location, and was entirely made up of cast and crew from the state. With the screening, the producers are excited to bring the film home in celebration to showcase the work of local creative talents," said Zak Heald, producer, director of photography and a student at John Brown University.

"As a student filmmaker, it is an honor to be collaborating with award-winning filmmakers, cast and crew," Heald said. "I never would have thought, this early in my career, that I would have this unique opportunity to assemble and work with these unique professional visionaries."

Tickets to the preview are $10. Guests can order tickets via Eventbrite at the following link: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-shoes-of-hayim-premiere-tickets- 1730262531?aff=efbevent.

The film will be shown twice during the premiere with a Q&A with the filmmakers between the screenings.

Ticket holders are asked to please bring a paper ticket or receipt or be able to show their ticket and receipt on a phone at the door.

General News on 06/04/2014