'Rain' makers in Sauk Valley for film shoot

DIXON – It’s a story to which many people can relate.

Losing faith. Getting bitter. Misguided blame.

And after it all, people may come to realize they might have been wrong about some things.

Filmmaker Jeff Dull has seen that a lot in society, and those themes are the backbone of “He Sends Rain,” an independent movie he and others are filming in this area throughout the next 2 weeks.

On Thursday, the cast and crew were filming scenes at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Dixon.

“The movie touches a lot on faith,” Dull said. “What we really want to do is depict faith in a genuine manner.”

The film, which Dull started writing in January, revolves around a young man, David Conrad, played by Zach Bortot, and his deep issues with his father.

David is living in Chicago with his wife, Julia, played by Kelly Helgeson. He’s a successful man, and very early into the story, he finds out that his father has become ill.

When he is forced to go home to deal with the situation, he finds out his father has adopted a teenage son, Marcus, played by actor Zach McKay.

The 13-year-old’s real-life father, Antoine McKay, is also in the movie, playing the part of Arthur Sims. Antoine also plays Bunkie in Fox’s breakout drama “Empire,” and he appeared in the TV show “Prison Break.”

Dull and the McKays attend the same church, which is how Zach landed a spot in the movie.

Zach described the experience of filming his first movie during the summer “kind of like a vacation ... like this is better than a vacation.”

This movie is just the start of following his dreams to be an actor, with hopes of someday finding a way to study at Juilliard in New York.

Watching his dad be an actor is “most definitely the main reason” that Zach has found a love in the performing arts. Zach already has experience in theater and musical theater.

Zach says his uncle, Ivory McKay IV, who is also an actor, is also someone who inspires him.

His friends are very supportive and encourage him to act, he says.

When not spending part of summer break in the Sauk Valley, filming the movie, Zach – like many people his age – enjoys being outside, playing basketball and football.

When he was about Zach’s age, one of the film’s producers, Joshua Russell, called the Sauk Valley home.

Russell, a 1997 graduate of Rock Falls High School, teaches screenwriting as a professor at DePaul University. He also, clearly, makes independent films.

Rebecca Edmonson, first assistant director of “He Sends Rain,” described the Rock Falls home of Russell’s parents, which will be featured prominently in the film, as “a beautiful location.”

On Friday, the cast and crew filmed at Oakwood Cemetery, receiving help from local establishments like Preston Schilling Funeral Home, which provided a casket for a scene.

With a small-budget independent film, cast and crew appreciate all the help they can get.

“We have had great support,” Edmonson said. “Family and friends are cooking for us, and the people at the church made us feel very welcome.”

It’s clear that Dull never wants to tell the audience what to think; he simply wants people to think, and think deeply, no matter what they believe.

“It’s a movie based around that notion that God sends rain on the just and the unjust,” Dull said. “And sometimes people interpret that as God sending judgment.”

At the movie’s core, a family tragedy leaves David bitter and angry at God, with a hostile attitude toward religion.

What’s that tragedy?

“Oh, I can’t tell you that,” Dull said with a smile on his face.

Guess we’ll all have to wait to find out.

After filming for a few more days, the cast and crew will get a day off on Tuesday to do some exploring in the Sauk Valley. Who knows? You might even run into one of them.

If not, you may have to wait until the film is released.

The film’s creators already have a distributor lined up, which also helped with funding, Dull said. While having that set up before the movie is through filming is unusual, and exciting, he says, the movie will likely take at least a year to edit after filming.

“We’d like it to end up in theaters,” Dull said. “But, at this point, it will most definitely be available on DVD.”